


Behind the Walls

by ParadiseAvenger



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Child Abuse, F/M, Physical Abuse, Sexual Abuse, awareness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-15
Updated: 2013-03-16
Packaged: 2017-12-05 09:25:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 25
Words: 66,312
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/721481
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ParadiseAvenger/pseuds/ParadiseAvenger
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Child Abuse Awareness. It shouldn't hurt to be a child. Sora took the abuse, suffered the hits, and shed the blood. Kairi begged for salvation and pleaded for the rape to stop. Who protects you when your parents hurt you? AU. Adult themes. SoraXKairi.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Beautiful Broken Children

For Anime Lover Bebe! Who fell off her roof and is now laid up in bed for three weeks. I hope you can survive the boredom! Everyone send her fake flowers and chocolate and whatever else you’re supposed to send injured people! And someone start building a padded room! 

Okay?

On your mark, get set…

Please, check out my first ORIGINAL NOVEL! **The Breaking of Poisonwood by Paradise Avenger.** (Summary: People were dead. When Skye Davis bought me at a slave auction as a birthday present for his brother, I had no idea what my new life was going to be like, but I had never expected this. It all started when Venus de Luna was killed and I was to take her place, to become the new savior… Then, bad things happened and some people died. In the heart of the earth, we discovered the ancient being that Frank Davis had found and created and used to his advantage. The Poisonwood—)

Me? Well, I need a shield. 

Anyway, on with the story!

Oh, **Dearlybelovedangel made a spectacularly beautiful video for this story.** I would love for everyone to watch it because it is so amazing! 

Alright, if Youtube or Fanfiction decides to be a butt, the title is **“Behind the Walls {Sora/Kairi}”** on and it looks just like that with the slashes and brackets. There is also a link in my profile for you lazy people. Or here's the link right here, just remove the spaces: you tube. com/ watch?v=mrfl3j7VbPA 

Please, go enjoy and watch it because it’s wonderful! (And it doesn’t give anything away!)

Zetsumei-Dragunov drew some fanart for my story Behind the Walls. The links are all in my profile!

X X X

The puppy was small and damp. It had rained last night and the cardboard box was soaked through, caving in and bowing out. The puppy, low-slung and fluffy, was whimpering pathetically and shivering in the soggy box. Poor thing… Clawing at the soft cardboard wall, it spilled out onto the street, tumbling head over heels. For a moment, it sat bewildered in the middle of the sidewalk, looking around with its wide innocent blue eyes.

The dark sky stretched on endlessly, full of countless diamond stars and haunted by the thought of other intelligent life. Most of the starlight the reached Earth came from stars that were already dead. The puppy was small and insignificant in the big picture of life, especially sitting on a lonely sidewalk in a small city in the middle of a rainy night. A single car, headlights blood red and reflecting on the damp pavement, screamed down the street, sending up a wave of dirty water to soak the small puppy. 

It began to rain, ice-cold drops that splattered the pavement and soaked the poor puppy. It whimpered and returned to the soggy but safe haven of the waterlogged cardboard box. There it once again hunkered, shivering and whimpering, as the night stretched on endlessly. 

Only a short way down the block from where the puppy cowered in its sodden cardboard box, more insignificant lonely lives cried out in the night. 

…

The ancient redbrick apartment building was seven stories of crumbling blood-colored stone with countless dirty windows. The fire escape was rusty, blackened, and rattled at the slightest breath of breeze. There was a wrinkled old man barricaded in the lobby, watching over the mailboxes and the front door and spending much of his time in search of the words for his crossword puzzle. Opposite the old man’s counter was a door marked plainly with black marker over a piece of crinkled yellow paper with the word POOL. The pool wasn’t heated so very few people used it, but it was clean and refreshing. There was a creaking old elevator and a long flight of wining stairs leading to the apartments upstairs. Most of the apartment building was inhabited by seniors, but there were three young families with teenage children and younger children. 

Mr. Earl Strife came stumbling into the lobby a little after nine. He grunted a greeting to the old man, lurched his way into the elevator, and punched the button for floor 7. Much to his great displeasure, he had to hold the elevator for a teenage girl who was getting off on floor 6. How inconvenient. She didn’t say a word to him, just stood with her hands clenched in her shirt, staring at the floor. Earl was able to ignore her happily until the elevator dinged open on floor 6. Then, silently, she got off and disappeared into apartment 6A. Then, Earl finished riding the elevator to his own floor, fumbled for his key, an unlocked his own apartment.

…

Inside 7A, the Strife family apartment, sixteen-year-old Sora was already hurting. Sitting up with great difficulty on his bed in his dark room, his little sister was kneeling between his parted knees. Her small cold fingers probed at the edges of the ragged wound in across his ribcage. 

“I’m going to sand down the corners of that coffee table so this doesn’t happen again,” she said softly and pressed a length of gauze to the tattered wound. 

Sora hissed in agony, breath wheezing out between his teeth. “Luka, anytime you want to stop pressing on that would be wonderful,” he gasped. 

“I wish you’d let me take a few blows every once in a while. You’re already so hurt,” Luka said quietly and applied a strip of tape over the wound. 

“Never,” Sora gasped out between his clenched teeth. “So long as I’m here, they won’t lay a finger on you.”

Luka sighed. “I know,” she whispered and gently tugged her brother’s shirt down, hiding the covered wound. The dark stain of blood in the fabric was still wet and glistening, coating her fingertips with thin sticky crimson. “Thank you, Sora, but I wish you could heal…” 

His beautiful eyes, cerulean blue and as innocent as a darling puppy’s, smiled into his sister’s heartbroken face. He cupped her face in his cold hands and gently placed his lips to her forehead. “It’s okay, Luka. I want you to be safe,” he said softly. “They can do whatever they want to me… to me…”

Luka lowered her eyes, almost ashamed, but Sora refused to allow her to look away from him. 

“No, Luka, I’m your brother. It’s my duty to protect you.”

In the apartment, the door noisily opened. Sora leaped from the bed, jolting to his feet. Immediately, he dropped to his knees as the pain in his chest knocked all the air from his lungs. Gasping and wheezing, Sora tried to catch his breath and Luka looped her arms around his shoulders, helping him to his feet.

“Don’t move so quickly,” Luka chastised. 

“Quick, quick,” Sora gasped. “Out! Get into your bedroom and lock the door. You know the drill!”

“Will you be alright?” Luka whispered as he nudged her out the door. 

“Yes, of course. Now, hurry!” Sora said quickly. He stood in the threshold of his bedroom until he saw his sister safely inside her own bedroom with the door closed and locked. Then, he quietly closed his own door and once again sat on the bed, wrapping his arms around his long legs and putting his face into the dark haven of his arms. 

Sora and Luka once again listened to their father stumbling around the apartment, slurring and shouting for their mother. Their mother was no better, already deep in a drug-induced sleep on the couch. Every night it was the same, Earl came home, found Wanda asleep, and went into a rage. Sometimes he beat her, whether she was awake or asleep. Other times, he chose to beat Sora or tried to beat Luka. Sora never allowed that. 

Clutching his legs tighter to his chest, Sora strained his ears, listening to see who would be his father’s victim tonight. Though it was rotten of Sora, he hoped his father beat his mother as she had already slammed Sora into the sharp corner of the coffee table causing the deep gouge in his chest. Sucking in a deep breath, Sora held it and listened harder.

As luck would have it, luck was not on his side tonight.

Sora heard his father lumbering down the hallway towards his bedroom. 

He wondered if it was better to fight his father and attempt to flee tonight or just take the beating without quarrel. The wound in his chest and deep and painful. Even a light blow would rend it open again. But if Sora fought back and was unable to escape in his injured condition, the beating would be twice as vicious.

He chewed his lip, digging his fingers into his thighs. Each breath sent a sharp stab of pain through his chest. Running would be impossible. Fighting would be harder still. He would have to just take the beating tonight. Wetting his lips and closing his eyes, steeling himself, Sora prepared for the worst and hoped for the best.

But he was not a favorite child of the merciful gods.

His doorknob turned noisily, rattling, and the door creaked ominously open. Sora had received many a slap for not oiling the squeaky hinges, but he liked the warning announcement of his father entering his room in the dark. 

“Boy,” his father slurred. “You worthless little shit, these hinges still creak.”

Sora didn’t answer, hoping not to stoke the rage. He tightened his lips and squeezed his eyes tightly shut. 

His father’s warm hand tightened around Sora’s elbow, hurling him from the bed onto the cold floor. The side of his face slammed across the splintery old hardwood and then his father’s polished shoe struck Sora deep in the gut. Hacking, unable to breathe, he wrapped his arms around himself, trying to protect his vulnerable stomach and the new wound from the coffee table from his father’s onslaught. A blow caught him under the chin, snapping his teeth together loudly and his mouth flooded with blood. Darkness spread fingers across his vision, sucking him down into the black abyss. Unconsciousness took him greedily.

…

Inside 6A, the Hart family apartment, fifteen-year-old Kairi hung up her coat in the hall closet and tiptoed to her bedroom. Closing the door quietly, she quickly burrowed beneath the covers and tried to fall asleep. He didn’t bother her when she was sleeping… or if he did, she didn’t know it. It had been going on for years: the world’s worst crime.

She remembered being seven, standing in front of her mother clutching a teddy bear, and saying in her little broken voice, _“Mommy, don’t let Daddy kiss me.”_

Her mother had dismissed her small pleas, not understanding. She thought those words were Kairi’s way of saying she didn’t want John to be her new father, of saying that he could never replace her real father. That step-daddy John’s affection would never be accepted, but nothing was farther from the truth. 

It started small. 

John’s kisses when her mother wasn’t around were too deep, his big tongue filling her little mouth, choking her. He nipped at her little lips, all painted with cotton-candy flavored gloss. She couldn’t push him off. She had to just stand there and cry, trembling with fear.

And slowly grew.

By the time she was eight, he had started putting his fingers in her, reaching around her little panties to get inside her. Those touches escalated more quickly. Within six months of his first finger, he began to pull her panties down and spread her legs. Kairi, terrified and clutching her stuffed bear, just lay there on her bed while his big tongue licked at her private place and his fingers stretched something soft and vulnerable inside her where it was tender. 

When she turned nine, as a present, he revealed his man part to her and made her touch it. It was stone-hard, but hot and sticky, and spurted white stuff when John moaned especially loud. Within the week, he made Kairi put her mouth around it, gagging her small throat and filling her stomach with the salty white fluid that came from his man part.  
It wasn’t long after that when he put his big man part inside her for the first time. The pain still woke Kairi from her nightmares at the memory. He had torn her apart, plowing into the soft place he had been violating for years. She remembered seeing her bright blood flowering the pink sheets and sobbing worse than when she had broken her arm. 

When she turned ten, her mother died in a car accident. Then, there was no barrier between her and John, nothing to stop him and nothing to protect her. He didn’t sneak into her room anymore. He just sauntered in and touched her, filled her, hurt her… 

At thirteen, when she first got her womanly period, John introduced her to the wonders of anal penetration. The pain didn’t even compare to the first time he took her when she was nine. She had passed out and woken up bloody, smelling horrible, and covered in his white fluid. Now, planning ahead, the week before her period, he starved her. She was allowed only a liquid diet so her rectum was clean and bare for him.

Now, at fifteen, she was on birth control to protect whatever she could salvage from her wretched life. Pregnancy and unpredictable periods were the worst things she could think of anymore. 

Kairi pulled her pillow over her head and tried to empty her mind. “Come on, Kairi, fall asleep,” she whispered to herself. “Sleep. Sleep. Sleep.”

Blessedly, though the merciful gods graced her with nothing else, she did manage to fall asleep. If John came to her in the night, she didn’t wake up. Sleep was her only sanctuary, but even then her nightmares prevented sleep from being a perfect haven. 

…

Outside, on the cold rainy street, the whimpering puppy slept as well.

X X X

Questions, comments, concerns? 


	2. Goodbye Beautiful Day

A report of child abuse is made every ten seconds. 

Almost five children die every day as a result of child abuse. More than three out of four are under the age of 4.

Child abuse occurs at every socioeconomic level, across ethnic and cultural lines, within all religions and at all levels of education.

It is estimated that between 60-85% of child fatalities due to maltreatment are not recorded as such on death certificates.

90% of child sexual abuse victims know the perpetrator in some way; 68% are abused by family members.

About 80% of 21-year-olds that were abused as children met criteria for at least one psychological disorder.

About 30% of abused and neglected children will later abuse their own children, continuing the cycle.

X X X

It was still grey and bleak and raining the next morning. There was a thick horrible blanket of clouds blotting out the sun. The pavement was splattered with puddles and soggy worms. The air smelled fertile, sooty, like flowers could be grown in it. The little puppy still whimpered, shivered, and huddled in the waterlogged cardboard box. The words _“Free to good home”_ had bled through the soggy paper into an inky blob. People bustled to and fro, surging beneath colored umbrellas of every shape, size, and pattern. No one saw the puppy. 

In the ancient redbrick apartment building, in 7A, the Strife family apartment was silent and still. 

Luka carefully poked her head out of her bedroom after listening at the door for a long moment. There was a long smear of thick dried blood in the hallway. Her heart leaped into her throat, choking her momentarily. She bolted from her room, hurled open Sora’s door, and found his room empty. “Sora?” she gasped out and whirled around. Her eyes followed the trail of old blood across the hall and she quickly raced to the bathroom where the trail ended. “Sora!”

Her brother was slumped in the half-filled tub. The water was icy-cold and swirled with blood. Luka plunged her hands into the bath and dragged her brother from the tub. His wet hair plastered against her face and neck, warm blood seeped over her fingers where they were pressed against his chest, and he gasped in anguish.

“Sora,” Luka gasped and laid him out on the bathroom floor. She pulled his shirt up, revealing the gash from the coffee table which was split even wider and bleeding sluggishly. His skin was ice-cold to the touch and heat was not swiftly returning to his body. She plunged her hand into the bloodied water and pulled the drain. The water emptied quickly and she began refilling the tub with warm water. When it was half-full, she heaved Sora back into the tub.

His entire body tensed and his beautiful eyes fluttered open. “Luka,” he gasped. “That’s… hot!”

Her eyes welled with tears and she hugged him tightly around his shoulders. “Oh god, thank god,” she whispered. “I thought you were dead.”

“I’m okay…” he whispered. “Shut that off, Luka.” He lifted one trembling hand and cupped the side of his face where a huge black bruise had formed. “Ow,” he groaned. “What happened?”

Luka wet her lips and turned off the water. She didn’t answer, she couldn’t. She didn’t know what had happened. She had just sat at her bedroom door last night, listening to her father swearing and Sora making small sounds of agony. By the time the apartment finally fell silent, Luka had already cried herself to sleep leaning against the door. 

“What time is it?” Sora continued, never having expected her to answer. 

“A little after 5:30,” Luka told him, put the seat down on the toilet, and sat there. 

Blearily, he asked, “And it’s the first day of school today, right?” 

Luka nodded. “Maybe you shouldn’t go,” she murmured. “Maybe you should stay home and rest. You can stay in my room with the door locked.”

Sora shook his head and carefully heaved himself into a sitting position, putting his hand over the gouge in his chest. “Ow… First day of school,” he said with a strained smile. “I wouldn’t want to miss out on a second of the boredom.” 

Luka smiled. “Alright. Why don’t you shower? It’ll warm you up and I’ll get you a towel.”

“That would be great, Luka,” Sora whispered and dragging himself onto his knees in the lukewarm water of the bathtub. Leaning on the wall for support, he started the shower and then struggled to peel off his saturated clothing. He tossed each garment over the shower bar and listened to them landing with a wet splat. Then, he stood beneath the spray of warm water, letting the cascade soothe away his tension and take the edge off his pain. The water stung the wound on his chest and blood swirled away down the drain.

Luka knocked lightly and he heard her taking the wet clothing and wringing them out in the sink. “The towel is here on the vanity for you. Do you want me to get you any clothes?”

Sora laughed quietly. “I’m still capable of dressing myself, but if you could get the gauze and tape and some aspirin, that would be great,” he said.

“Sure,” Luka whispered and he heard her quietly closing the door. 

Sora turned off the taps, groped for the towel his sister had brought him, dried his face and hands, and then wrapped it tightly around his hips. Luka was in her bedroom, standing at the mirror running a comb through her long platinum blonde hair. She looked at him, watching him closely until he gave her a thumbs-up. 

In his own room, the first aid kit was laid out neatly for him along with a bottle of aspirin and a glass of water. He took four aspirin for the unbelievable pain and drained the entire glass of water but even then his mouth still tasted like blood. He taped a thick pad of gauze over the wound on his chest and then carefully dressed in jeans and a long-sleeved shirt to hide his bruises. Finally, he went to the mirror and scrutinized the lack bruise on his face. “Yeah,” he whispered to himself. “I walked into the door again.”

“Or fell down the stairs,” Luka voiced quietly from the threshold. 

Sora turned to look at her questioningly and she gestured to where his hand was pressed firmly over his wound. Walking into a door wouldn’t explain the gash in his chest. “You always have been better at coming up with stories than I am,” he said wryly.

She smiled and softly put her fingertip to his forehead. “Less head trauma,” she whispered. “Thank you for that.”

Sora wrapped his arms around his little sister, crushing her tightly against him regardless of the paint hat slammed through his chest. Luka hugged him back and her narrow shoulders trembled with sobs. They stood like that for a long moment, holding each other and wondering what they had done wrong to deserve this life. 

Then, Sora pushed her back, gripping her by her skinny shoulders, and said, “Let’s get going.”

Luka sniffled, wiped her eyes, and nodded. She helped Sora into his raincoat, shrugged into her own jacket, collected their umbrellas, and Sora locked the door behind them. Inside 7A, their mother still slept on the couch in a drug induced haze.

…

In 6B, the Hart family was bouncing with normal morning activities. Kairi, showered and dressed and ready for school, was sitting down to a stack of blueberry pancakes and a hot chocolate piled with whipped cream. John may have taken her body at night, but he was a good guardian. Before the move, all of her girlfriends who spent the night (which John allowed once a week and did not steal into the room to have Kairi that night) and woke up to the smorgasbord of breakfast just roiled with jealousy. 

Kairi didn’t want for anything… 

“Good morning, Princess,” John said and kissed her lips gently, sending a shiver down her spine. “Excited for school?”

“Not really,” she said and cut a triangle of pancake. It was sweet and fluffy on her tongue, but stuck like a stone in her throat. She had to force herself to swallow.

“It’s raining,” John was saying as he flipped another pancake. “Would you like me to drive you?”

Kairi glanced out the window at the thick grey sky. It was drizzling slowly, starring the glass. She fiddled with the ends of her cranberry locks, twisting it around and around her finger. “Yes, that would be wonderful,” she said finally.

John smiled and sat down beside her to eat. “We can go school shopping when I get home from work tonight. Do you need clothes?” His eyes gleamed.

“No, not really,” Kairi said and picked at her food. 

“You didn’t eat your whipped cream,” John pointed out.

Kairi’s stomach clenched and she quickly whipped some cream onto her spoon and put it in her mouth. “Yum,” she whispered and took a deep sip of hot chocolate. John was watching her fiercely and he licked his lips. Kairi glanced at the clock and then pushed back her chair. “I want to get to school early since it’s the first day,” she explained. “Can we leave now?”

“You didn’t finish your pancakes,” he said plainly.

“I’ll finish them later,” Kairi said and shouldered her backpack. 

John sighed heavily, piled the dishes in the sink, grabbed his coat and car keys, and then followed Kairi out the door. Piling into the Station Wagon, they pulled away from the apartment building and onto the wet street. Only a few other cars were out and two people were walking huddled under an umbrella. Kairi looked at them as they drove passed, John slowing so as not to send up a tidal wave of water and soak the two pedestrians. 

There was a young man, maybe her own age, with wild chestnut-colored hair and a younger girl with long platinum locks. They walked slowly, with their arms around each other. Kairi would have thought them a couple, but the girl looked so young and frail. 

Siblings, she decided, as the school came into view.

“Have a great day, sweetie,” John said and waited patiently for her to kiss his cheek.

Pressing her lips to the stubbly cheek, she closed her eyes and held her breath. Then, affection finished, Kairi hurried through the rain into the bustling high school where she could be anonymous and silent and, finally, safe.

X X X

Questions, comments, concerns? 


	3. Work and Wretched Play

I’m glad everyone is starting to warm up to this story.

X X X

On rainy days like today, it was incredibly convenient to have the middle school right next door to the high school. Both building were two stories tall and painted the ugly orange and black school colors. There was a baseball diamond and huge grey stadium half-hidden behind the high school. Behind the middle school was a brightly colored ensemble of playground equipment and a tennis court. The parking lot was filled with the cars of teachers and seniors that could drive rather than taking the bus. There was a never-ending line of buses dropping students off first at the middle school and then going the extra hundred feet to the high school.

Luka and Sora waited at the crosswalk with a bunch of other students until the security guard in his bright yellow rain slicker waved them across the street. Heedless of the high school students that snickered at him, Sora walked Luka right to the doors and then took the umbrella from her. 

For a moment, she ignored everyone around her, including the friends that had spotted her and were now calling her name and waving. “You’re sure you’ll be alright?” she asked him. Her big beautiful eyes stared, drilled, into his. “Sora?”

“Yes, I’ll be fine,” he said with a small laugh. “I’ll come down and get you with the umbrella at the end of the day. Wait for me here.”

Luka nodded and stepped away from her brother. He didn’t watch her walk into the arms of her friends. He wasn’t a parent.

Sora opened the umbrella over his head and walked up to the high school. He didn’t want to admit it, but it was harder to walk without Luka supporting him. Each breath sent a stab of agony through his chest, spearing from the wound. He pushed through the big double doors and stepped into the safety of anonymity that high school was known for.

…

Sora went to his locker and put away both the umbrella and his rain slicker. Then, he crouched down, stuffed his binder into his backpack, and shouldered it. Straightening up, Sora pressed a hand over the wound and prayed that he wouldn’t bleed through the bandage during the day. 

The bell chimed and everyone in the hallway groaned and began heading towards homeroom. 

Checking in, Sora waited patiently for the ten minutes of homeroom to end while they sorted through schedules. He listened to everyone chattering amongst themselves, talking about what they had done all summer and how horrible it was to return to school. Sora hated listening to that. He loved school. School was safe. He and Luka were safe as long as they were in school… well, at least Luka was safe. Sora wasn’t safe anywhere. 

Finally, the bell rang and he went to his first period–English–and it was there that he met her.

She was nervous and beautiful, sitting in the desk farthest from the front of the room and closest to the door, staring at the open page of her notebook covered with neat little handwriting in red ink. She had her bag in her lap, holding it tightly to her as if it would escape the moment she let go. She was restlessly clicking a red pen open and closed. She had shoulder-length ruby-colored hair hanging damp and lank around her face, hiding her features. She was wearing a pink t-shirt, revealing her twig-thin arms and small silver bracelet around her narrow wrist, and long black jeans skin-tight on her skinny legs with dirty sneakers on her small feet.

But Sora, being Sora, did not sit beside her. He went and sat in the desk by the window where he could look out and see a corner of the middle school where Luka was. The rain pattered against the glass like prying fingers as the classroom slowly filled with students.

Finally, the teacher came flying into the classroom. She looked like a hippy, like she should have been teaching art or music or drama rather than English. Her dirty blonde hair was scraped back in a messy bun and she was wearing brightly beaded Dream Catcher earrings. Her clothes were wild: a long denim skirt with multicolored embroidery of swirling feathers and a deep wine-red blouse. On her feet were Doc Martin sandals with their trademark three-inch soles. 

“Hello and good morning, everybody,” she said cheerfully and set down a stack of papers on her desk. She picked up a purple marker and began scribbling on the board. “My name is Ms. Giangregorio. You can all call me Ms. G since that’s a mouthful. How is everyone, today?”

There was a chorus of groans.

“Wonderful,” she said and continued, “Did anyone do anything exciting this summer?”

More groaning.

“Fantastic! Now, clam up so I can take roll,” she said cheerfully and sat down on a tall bright blue stool. Crossing her legs, she spread out the roll on a red clipboard. “Alright correct me if I mispronounce anything or tell me if there’s something you’d rather be called, a nickname or anything. Okay? Now, Y-uh-ffie?”

“It’s Y-you-ffie,” a girl with dark hair and black-painted fingernails. “Yuffie.”

“Sorry,” Ms. G continued on with the roll but Sora tuned her out until she got to one name in particular. “Kairi?”

No one answered.

“Kairi Hart?”

Still nothing. The class began glancing around, looking at each other.

“Kairi Hart?”

Finally, a hesitant little voice said, “Here,” and timidly raised her hand. It was the nervous girl with her cranberry-colored tresses hanging in her face. 

“Ah, there you are. You’re going to have to speak up, Kairi, honey,” Ms. G said and continued on with the roll-call. Finally, taking most of the class period, she finished calling roll and began passing out the fun first-day-of-school paperwork: supply lists, rubrics, and year criteria…

Sora only half-looked at the list. Once again his attention was diverted from the teacher to drift to the red-haired girl. She appeared to be doodling on the papers she had been given and he absently wondered what she was drawing. Outside, lightning flared and thunder crashed. 

The bell rang and on to second period everyone went.

…

It was still raining, drizzling darkly, and showed no signs of stopping anytime soon. The sky was dark with thick black storm clouds and lightning lit up the heavy layers. Water gushed through the gutters, poured like blood from a bad wound. The world was full of noise: rain pounding, cars tearing through puddles and sending up waves of water, students laughing and talking, people who forget umbrellas running, thunder crashing like a second heart.

By the time the day ended, Sora had enough papers to create a book. He got his umbrella from his locker and put away his schoolbag. With some difficulty thanks to the wound on his chest, he managed to shrug into his rain slicker and then walked down to the middle school to get Luka. She was waiting for him patiently, hands shoved deep in her pockets and pale hair frizzy from the rain. 

“Sora,” she said eagerly when she saw him and darted through the rain to be at his side. “Are you alright? You look pale.”

“I’m fine,” he said and put his arm around her shoulders to keep her under the umbrella. 

Luka put her arm around his waist, half-supporting him as they walked. 

“How was your day?” Sora asked his sister. 

“Great. I really like my art teacher. Mr. Brooks is really awesome. He’s funny,” she said and smiled up at Sora. 

He thought her smile was so beautiful and he wished it would stay, but he knew once they got home, the joy would be wiped from her features. “I’m glad,” Sora said. “I have a really hilarious teacher, too.”

“Really? Who?” Luka asked.

“Ms. G, surprisingly she teaches English. Anything else interesting?”

Luka pursed her lips and then shook her head. “No, I think that’s about it. How about you?”

Sora shook his head. 

He didn’t tell Luka about the beautiful nervous girl with ruby-red hair. Kairi Hart. It didn’t matter anyway. Between school and his job and being beaten to a pulp and protecting Luka, he didn’t have time for friends. 

…

Kairi was walking home as well. On a beautiful day, the walk would be pleasant. But today, with the horrible rain, it was one of the times she wished that she lived far enough from school to ride the bus, but the apartment building was only a few blocks away. 

Gripping the umbrella tightly and listening absently to the rain pattering on the top, she walked slowly home.

Glancing up from the damp pavement where she had been valiantly trying not to step on any waterlogged worms, she noticed a soggy cardboard box with some smudged words written on one softening flap. Inside, there was a fluffy shivering ball. Crouching down, Kairi gently put her hand on the little creature. The puppy lifted its head and licked her hand. Its tongue was cold and it whined pathetically.

“Hey, baby,” she whispered. “What are you doing out here on the street?”

The puppy whimpered. 

Kairi picked it up and cradled it against her chest, feeling the dampness seeping into her skin through her shirt. “Do you belong to somebody?” she asked quietly.

The puppy shivered and cuddled against her chest. 

“Maybe I can bring you home with me,” she whispered and gently stroked the puppy’s soft cream-colored fur. It nuzzled her hand and licked her again. “I can get you some food and warm you up. How does that sound?”

Smiling to herself, she lifted the puppy in her arms, cradling it close against her breasts. In front of her, she saw the young man and younger girl she had seen that morning when John drove her to school: the siblings. They must live in her apartment building, she decided. She hung back as they shook out their umbrella and disappeared inside. Only then did Kairi hurry into the lobby and begin climbing the stairs since the elevator was already on its way up.

In 6A, she fed the puppy the pancakes she hadn’t had the stomach to finish that morning. It ate eagerly, half-starved. Kairi sat on the floor beside it and peeked under its tail. “You’re a girl,” she said. “Maybe we should give you a name.”

The puppy looked up at her, big doe-like eyes shining. 

Kairi smiled. “You’d like that, right? How about Cleo?”

The puppy gave a little yip as if she appreciated the name and wagged her tail. 

Kairi smiled and said, “Alright, Cleo it is.” And she found herself desperately praying that John would let her keep the puppy. She felt like it was a part of her and that something inside her needed the small warm creature. Putting the dirty plate in the sink, she picked up the puppy and brought it to the bathroom where she plugged in her hairdryer and began to dry the shivering Cleo. 

She was just finishing up, tying a small red ribbon around Cleo’s neck like a collar, when John returned home.

“Kairi, sweetie,” he called. “How was your first day of school?”

“Good,” Kairi said cheerfully and cradled Cleo close as she went to the kitchen where John was shrugging out of his jacket. “Look, I found this puppy on the way home from school today! Can I keep her, please?”

John turned and got at eye level with the puppy. He gently chucked it under the chin and then stroked the length of its back. “Adorable,” he said and lifted the puppy from Kairi’s arms. He eyed the way the damp spot where the puppy had been clung to the swell of Kairi’s breasts. “But I don’t know. Do you really want a dog?”

Kairi wet her lips and looked at Cleo. “Yes… I do,” she confessed, feeling the desperation returning to her chest. “I really do.”

John put the puppy back into her arms and smiled. “Alright, you can keep her. We’ll have to stop by the pet store and get her some food and a bed and such on our way back from school shopping.”

Kairi smiled broadly and kissed the top of Cleo’s head. The puppy yipped happily.

Then, as he walked past her to go to his bedroom and change clothes, John’s cold fingers brushed the length of her jaw, absently tucking some rosette hair behind her ear. He said quietly, “You’ll have to give me something special later tonight then.”

Kairi shivered and nodded, clutching Cleo tightly. The desperate feeling returned to her chest, crushing the breath from her lungs and her heart skipped several beats. She didn’t want to know what John had in mind for her. She went to her bedroom, cleared out the bottom of her closet, and made Cleo a bed out of a thick knitted shawl. Then, she tucked the puppy in and closed the closet door. For a moment, Cleo whined but then quieted. 

…

Kairi and John stepped out of 6A and Kairi pressed the button for the elevator. 

When the doors peeled open, there was a young man already inside. It was the young man with the wildly spiky brown hair who she had seen twice today walking to and from school. She also realized he was in her English class. He glanced up at them as they stepped into the elevator, cerulean blue eyes meeting Kairi’s for a split second before she slammed her eyes to the floor. John narrowed his eyes at the young man, almost glaring. Surprisingly quickly, the young man backed himself into a corner of the elevator and stood silently as if afraid. 

Kairi bit her lip and wrung her shirt in her hands. John stepped possessively close to her, looming over her and she felt his eyes burning into her face.

John didn’t allow her to talk to boys her own age. He said she belonged to him and that if she spoke to a young man she would eventually soil her body with him and make it unfit for use. Kairi had received many a slap for simply innocently speaking to another boy at the supermarket or book store.

Finally, the elevator touched down at ground floor and they all piled off. The young man paced quickly ahead of them, head ducked and hands shoved deep in his pockets. He walked swiftly out into the rain without looking back.

Kairi and John got into the Station Wagon and drove off to the mall. John allowed Kairi to roam through every store she wished to and purchased her whatever she wanted with the stipulation that he got to watch her try everything on. She selected several t-shirts, a couple long-sleeved shirts, some pleated skirts, and a few pairs of jeans. John patiently held everything for her, watching her peruse the racks. Finally, she made her way to a dressing room and John followed her in. 

Kairi stripped of her clothing, standing in her bra and panties before her step-father. She tried on each article of clothing, discarding the ones that didn’t fit or that John glared through. When she slipped into one of the skirts, John licked his lips as she turned delicately to display her long coltish legs. 

“That’s pretty,” he said, “but you’ll have to wear some leggings underneath it.”

Kairi nodded and pulled out a few sets of black leggings. “I have some here.”

John nodded and then handed Kairi her pants to put back on. “Let’s just get you some new underwear and, you went up a cup-size, right?”

Kairi nodded, putting her eyes to the floor. 

“So you’ll be needing some new bras, too,” he said.

They checked out and John nicely carried the clothing. To any outside eyes, he would have appeared to be a wonderfully charming adoring father. Kairi trailed helplessly behind him as he ducked into Victoria’s Secret and began browsing through the bras and lacy panties. 

After selecting the plain bras and cotton panties that she wanted, Kairi cradled her shoulders in her hands and waited while he selected what he wanted her to try on for him. She hated this. 

She hated this! 

“Alright,” John said and grinned predatorily at her.

They ducked into a fitting room, John sneaking. Then, he hung up what he had picked and what she had chosen on separate hangers. 

“Start with yours,” he said and sat back to watch. 

Kairi stripped naked and quickly pulled on the plain bras and cotton panties. He lazily watched, only half-interested as the undergarments were not showy. Finished, Kairi put the garments she had chosen beside John to be purchased and pulled the lacy translucent bra on over her B-cup breasts. It was A-cup, causing her beautiful mounds to spill over the cups. Then, she slipped on the thong John had chosen. She spun for him, half-bending and spreading her legs. She squeezed her eyes shut, knowing what would happen now that she was in lingerie. 

John’s hot fingers gripped her ass and pulled her back a few stumbling steps. She landed in his lap, feeling the bulge of his arousal against her soft crotch. She made a small sound in her chest as he gripped her breasts and fondled them roughly.

“Gorgeous,” he breathed against the shell of her ear.

She shivered and he traced his tongue against her pounding pulse point. 

“How about right here? Right now?” he whispered, voice thrumming deep in his throat. “Since I’m letting you keep the puppy, how about here?”

Kairi couldn’t say no. She nodded, choking on the lump that had formed in her throat. 

John hooked his finger beneath the string of the thong, snapping it lightly against her flesh. She shuddered against him and heard the horrible sound of his zipper lowering. His finger pushed the thong aside and then probed at the soft entrance of her body. She was dry and tight, but John was not an animal. He licked his fingers and then wet her insides with them, stretching her gently. Then, he pulled her back against his dick, plowing into her. 

Kairi cried out quietly. 

John stood up, bent her over the bench he had been sitting on, and slammed into her from behind over and over until his hot seed filled her to the brim. His cum dripped from her, running down her long legs. Her skin broke out in goose bumps and she shuddered. The pain was horrible, chafing and tearing.

“Lovely,” he said and slapped her ass. 

She peeled off the lingerie and pulled her clothing back on with shaking hands. Her crotch was sticky and cold. 

John was already on his way to the check out, paying for the bras and panties Kairi had chosen. Kairi hung the things he had chosen on the rack to be returned to the shelves. Then, with her debt to him paid and the shopping finished, it was off to the pet store they went. 

Nothing horrible happened there.

…

Sora Strife worked in a cheap little 80s diner a block from his apartment building. He ducked inside out of the rain, hung up his dripping slicker, and brushed some hair out of his face. His face was still black and blue, but no one here would ask him about it. As far as anyone knew, he wrestled at school and that was where all his injuries came from. In the crappy diner, he earned just enough money to supply his first aid kit and purchase school lunches for himself and Luka. 

“Dude, you look awful,” one of the other young waiters said. He had wild sandy-blonde hair gelled into spikes and deep cornflower blue eyes that were always unguarded and smiling. He was always happy and cheerful, but also concerned in a light kind of way. He was a refreshing change to Luka though Sora loved his sister dearly. 

“Thanks, Roxas. I can always count of you to lift my spirits,” Sora said flatly.

Roxas smiled. “And be honest,” he said cheerfully. “Rough match?”

“You should see the other guy,” Sora said.

Roxas was the only person he really talked to in the diner. Actually, Roxas was the only one who really cared that he came it black and blue and limping something awful every other day. So, Sora allowed himself this bit of contact with someone who was almost a friend. 

Chuckling, Roxas handed him a stack of menus and said, “You’re a little late. Table 4 is yours, but I got them their drinks already.” He handed over an order pad with a scribbled list of drinks. “Let me know if you need any help. Don’t hurt yourself. You look like Hell.”

“Thanks,” Sora said and he really meant it. 

Roxas grinned at him.

Then, Sora lost himself in the routine of work.

X X X

Questions, comments, concerns? 


	4. Spoken Burned Name

Nothing to say.

X X X

The next morning dawned with promising brightness. The rain had dried up, gluing soggy worms to the sidewalk, and the sun was peeking through the thick grey cloud cover. The sky looked like a beautiful painting, all dark grey crack to show clear cerulean blue. It looked like the storm was ending, but everyone still carried umbrellas just in case.

The morning passed dull and boring as Kairi drifted through her first five periods. 

Finally, it was lunch time, but she wasn’t hungry so she just slipped into a chair at an empty table and spread out her notebook. She fished her favorite red pen out and then put her bag back on her lap, holding it tightly in her fingers.

Neatly written in the notebook were pages upon pages of self-hate and shame and fear. Kairi took it everywhere with her, forever scribbling away at herself. 

_Why does he have to take me? Was I bad? Why do I deserve this? It’s all my fault. Why am I so ugly? Why is my hair blood-red? I’m so disgusting. Will it ever stop? Should I kill myself? Or would that be too easy? I must deserve this. Someone should hurt me. What’s wrong with me?_

Someone slid into a chair across the table from her, also not eating. 

“Do you mind if I sit here?” A faint, almost hesitant, voice asked quietly. 

Kairi looked up, protectively putting her hand over the endless red ink, and found herself face to face with the young man who lived in her building. 

He was handsome, truly beautiful she had to admit, with flawless alabaster pale skin darkened on one side by a heavy black bruise. His features were aristocratic and angular, face thin and gorgeous cerulean blue eyes sunken deep in his head. His wild chestnut hair was spiked crazily in every direction but looked soft and natural, naked of gel. His shoulders were narrow and sharp with bone. His dark blue t-shirt clung to his frame, showing just how thin and frail-looking his body was.

“Why?” she whispered. “Why would you want to sit here?”

“I’m sorry,” the young man said quietly. “Would you like me to go?”

Kairi thought of John’s glaring eyes and his bitter words, but the words to make him leave got stuck in her throat. She looked at his hands and saw that they were trembling badly. “You should eat something,” she found herself saying instead.

He looked startled, beautiful cerulean eyes widening and lips parting slightly. “I… can’t…”

“Why not?” Kairi whispered. 

He looked at his shaking hands and tightened them into fists. He didn’t have any money. Most of his customers last night had stiffed him on tips and he had spent most of the money he already earned on bandages and aspirin. He had given the remainder to Luka for her lunch, without telling her that he didn’t have enough for both of them, and therefore had none left over for his own meal. “I just… can’t…” he said, unable to confess the real reason.

Kairi gazed at him and then pulled out the wad of bills John gave her for lunch each week from her bag. She leafed off a few dollars and pushed them across the table at him. 

“I can’t accept that,” he said quickly and pushed them back with shaking hands.

Kairi shook her head. “No, please. You look like you’re going to drop,” she whispered. “Go ahead.”

“I can’t. I can’t pay you back.”

“My step-father gives it to me. It’s okay…”

He looked into her face, right into her violet eyes for a moment before she looked away. Then, he reached across the table and took the money from her, fingers brushing the backs of her cold hands. His fingers were chilly, too, far colder than hers. Kairi pulled her hands back quickly and stared at the page of red ink.

_I’m so disgusting._

“Thank you,” he said softly. “If there’s anything I can do for you, ever, please…”

“Please go,” she whispered. “Just go.”

_Someone should hurt me._

He snatched his hands back against his chest, gripping his shirt tightly. He stood up from the table, gripping the back of the chair tightly with one hand. Then, as she had asked, he turned and walked away, slowly and limping. 

Quietly, at his retreating back, Kairi whispered, “What’s your name?”

His voice rolled over her like something sweet and melted. “Sora…”

She didn’t watch him, tried not to… but from the corner of her eye, she saw him sit down at another empty table. Then, she went back to her notebook of pages of red ink, bleeding away parts of herself with cruel bitter words. 

The lunch bell rang and everyone swept on to seventh period in a rush of noise and commotion.

…

Like Luka, Sora had some artistic talent. His final period of the day was art, taught by a teacher who was rather dull but allowed the students to do almost whatever they wanted. His project directions usually said something along the lines of “use blue” and that was all. So long as there was a splotch of blue on the canvas, the project was an A. 

Smiling, Sora got down some thick smeary acrylics and a fresh board of canvas. Absently, he began painting, only half-thinking about what he was doing. Slowly, an image began to take shape on the canvas, spreading in all directions as vibrant as a stained glass window. 

The teacher stood behind him for a long moment, watching Sora smear in darkness and then lower his brush to gaze at the canvas. Parts were still white and blank, unfinished, but most of the composition had been filled in.

“Why did you draw that, Sora Strife?” the teacher asked.

Startled, Sora jolted and then looked back over his shoulder at the teacher. Then, he looked at his painting and said quietly, “I don’t really know.”

He had painted Kairi Hart. She was standing against a door, leaning against it with one of her skinny arms chained above her head. Her free hand was tightly gripping the crystal knob. Her garnet hair was whirling around her head like smoke, spreading against the door. She was wearing a strange pink dress, cut short above her knees and all tattered at the hem. There were dark belts around her hips and torso, tight against her slender frame. Her long legs were bare with strappy black shoes on her small feet. Spilling out from behind the half-open door were tendrils of darkness, leaking out like sinister secrets. 

“It’s incredible,” the teacher said. “When it’s finished, I’d love to have it in the show.”

Sora blinked at the teacher and then nodded. “Of course, sure,” he said.

The teacher smiled, nodded, and continued to circle the room observing his students. He stopped a few times to help them, offering suggestions and techniques. For a long moment, Sora stared at his canvas, wondering why he had drawn what he had. 

On the back of the canvas, he wrote his name Sora Strife and the words Girl Bound by Secrets. 

Then, he watched the clock until the class was over.

…

Sora was on time for work that day. Actually, he was there before Roxas, which was surprising. Hanging up his rain jacket, which he had carried over his arm in case the skies decided to open up on him, Sora went to seat the customers that came inside only a moment after him. Smiling, actually feeling happy for the first time in a long while, Sora seated them and fetched their drinks.

Roxas came tearing in a top speed at the same time Sora usually did, gasping for breath and panting. “Sorry,” he forced out and pushed some hair out of his face. “I don’t know what happened, but I’m somehow late.”

“It’s the end of the world as we know it,” Sora said and handed him some menus. “Don’t worry about it. I owe you for covering for me all the time anyway.”

Roxas smiled. “In that case, thanks,” he said. 

For once, the night cruised by in a flurry of activity. Everyone was cheerful as a result of the good weather after such a horrible rainy day. The flow of customers was steady and tips were pretty good. The only thing was, by the time his shift was over, Sora had run himself ragged.

“You want a ride home?” Roxas asked, spinning his keys on his finger. “It’s no trouble.”

“That’s okay. I just live a block away,” Sora said and shrugged into his slicker. 

There was a fine mist coming down outside, but the night was clear and quiet. Waving to Roxas, Sora hurried home.

The door was open for him, as always, but the sight waiting for him on the sofa was not something he ever wanted to see again. First, the smell almost knocked him out. Second, the sight slammed into his chest with brutal force. His heart leaped into his throat, choking off his air and he had to grip the wall for support. 

Luka was sitting on the couch. Her face was streaked with tears and her eyes were red and puffy. Around her shoulders, her long platinum hair had been burned into a matted foul-smelling mess. Her shirt was singed, filled with holes. 

Beside her, their mother sat with her eyes all glazed from whatever she was high on and a lighter in her hand. 

“Sora…” Luka whispered desperately as their mother flicked the lighter and burned more of Luka’s hair until the lock was shortened to just below her chin. 

“What are you doing?” Sora shouted. 

In a split second, he had closed the space between him and his sister, putting her hair out with his palms. The smell of burnt flesh joined the smell of burning hair. He shoved their mother back into the cushions, wrapped one arm around Luka’s shoulders, crushed her too him, and quickly backed out the door with her tight against his body. 

In the hallway, he hugged her tightly and asked, “When did she start doing that?”

Luka clutched him and sobbed, “Just a little after you left. She was sleeping and I came out to make some dinner. Then, she was just… she burned me!” 

“It’s just hair,” Sora whispered and gently ran his hands over the mess of uneven locks. “Did you burn your skin?”

Luka shook her head. “I was so scared,” she whispered. 

“I’m sorry I wasn’t there to protect you,” Sora said softly into her hair. 

“It’s not your fault,” Luka said quickly and hugged him tightly. “I’m not hurt. I’m okay.”

Sora lifted the singed strands. “We have to do something about this,” he murmured. 

“I can’t cut it,” she whispered and showed him her trembling hands. Luka had many talents: one of which was cutting both their hair. 

Sora bit his lip. He wasn’t trusted to cut hair, not since he had cut her bangs unevenly. He thought of Kairi Hart, who lived somewhere in the building. Maybe if he could find her…   
“I have an idea,” he told Luka. “Let’s go down to the lobby.”

She wrinkled her brow, but did not question him.

They took the stairs down, trying to unwind a little. Then, Sora went to the old man behind the front counter who was still doing his crossword puzzle with his glasses pushed high up on his nose. 

“Hi, Mr. Douglas,” Sora said with false cheer.

“Oh, Sora, my boy. What is a three-letter word for mouse-catcher?” the old man asked.

“Um, owl or cat,” Sora said.

“Owl!” Mr. Douglas exclaimed. “Wonderful. What can I do for you?”

“Could you tell me which apartment the Harts live in?” Sora asked.

Mr. Douglas scrutinized Sora. “Do you have mischief on your mind, boy?”

“No,” Sora said quickly. “I’m looking for a friend of mine.”

“Ah, well, the Harts are in 6A, right below you. Send that adorable Kairi my love,” Mr. Douglas said.

Sora gave him a thumbs up and then stepped into the elevator with Luka at his side. They rode to the sixth floor in silence and then walked down the hallway to 6A. At the door, Sora hesitated, remembering how she had told him to go at lunch. 

“What is it?” Luka asked.

He glanced at her with her long platinum hair blackened and shortened to shoulder-length in places and chin-length in others. Her shoulders were shaking and her eyes were bloodshot. The sight of her like that gave him the courage to knock. 

“Nothing,” he told her.

Kairi pulled open the door, saw Sora, and quickly closed it over as if to hide the fact that he was at the door. “Ah, what are you doing here?” she whispered. 

Sora stepped back since he appeared to be making her uncomfortable and pushed Luka in front of him. “This is my sister and we had a little… accident… with the stove upstairs,” he said and tried to smile. “I can’t cut hair and we need a little help.”

“Kairi, honey, who’s at the door?” John called from inside.

“J-just a friend from school,” Kairi stuttered.

“Go ahead and invite her in,” John said.

She looked at Sora and then at Luka. “I can help her, but you can’t come in.”

Sora’s shoulders tightened. He wasn’t willing to leave his sister on the other side of a closed door where he couldn’t get to her, but Luka was already nodding. Her eyes were fixed on Kairi. 

“It’s okay, Sora,” she whispered and stepped forward. “I’ll be alright.”

“Luka,” Sora hissed.

“It’s okay. Just wait for me here,” she whispered. She smiled at him and Kairi stepped back to allow her inside.

The door closed quietly and Sora strained his ears to hear the lock slide, but it never did. That eased him a little, but not enough. Biting his lip, he leaned against the wall next to the door and waited for his sister to come back out. 

…

Inside, Kairi was saying, “Daddy, this is Luka. She lives upstairs and she needs my help. I’ll only be a minute.”

John smiled charmingly. “A pleasure. What happened to your hair?”

“I had a little accident with the stove,” Luka said. Something told her not to mention her brother, not even a peep about him. “No one can help me with this at home, but I hoped maybe Kairi could help me.”

“My Kairi has many talents,” John said. “Have fun girls.” Then, he turned back to the television.

Kairi quickly brought Luka to the bathroom and pulled the scissors from the drawer. She wet Luka’s hair and quickly began snipping at the burned pieces. Luka watched Kairi working in the mirror, watched her hair slowly evening out and becoming platinum again rather than burned black. In ten minutes, Kairi had tamed the mess back into something manageable. It wasn’t perfect, but it was close. 

“Thank you,” Luka said and looked at the hair spread across the bathroom floor. “I’ll help you clean up,” she offered.

“No, that’s alright,” Kairi said quickly, nervously. “I’ll take care of it. You should go home.”

“I live in 7A. It’s just right upstairs. It would be no trouble for me to help you a minute,” Luka replied. 

Kairi’s violet eyes darted from the floor to Luka’s face and back. Again, she shook her head. “It’s alright. Please, you should go,” she said with such desperation that Luka didn’t argue this time. 

“It was nice to meet you, Luka,” John called as Kairi ushered her out the door. “Come back anytime.”

“Thank you,” Luka responded.

In the hallway, Sora jolted, taking in her appearance quickly. Deciding she was alright, he turned to Kairi and said, “Thanks.”

Kairi glanced at him, said goodbye only to Luka, and then closed the door. 

Luka looked up at Sora, but he had nothing to say about his mysterious friend. “You’re hair is cute,” he said gently.

“Kairi has a lot of talent,” Luka said plainly. “Let’s get upstairs before Dad gets home.”

Sora nodded, not relishing the idea of the gash in his chest opening up again. They ducked into the apartment, Luka in her room and Sora in his, only seconds before their father returned home. The scent of burned hair and flesh and their mother sitting on the couch playing with a lighter set their father off. 

That night, he beat her and Sora was safe.

…

Below, in 6A, Kairi wasn’t. 

John came to her again, flouncing into her room while she was changing into her pajamas. She stopped buttoning buttons, knowing what he was there for, and slowly lowered her hands. 

He cupped her buttocks from behind and then slid his hand between her legs, touching her sensitive slit. Then, without further ado, he pulled down her bottoms, baring her creamy ass and pink private cunt. He pushed her onto the mattress and spread her outer lips with his thumbs. She whimpered, clutching the sheets, as he drew a long slow lick across her snatch. 

“You smell so sweet,” John murmured and then delved his tongue into her. “You were so good in the store today that I thought we’d give you a little reward.”

“You don’t have to,” she gasped, gripping the blankets as he pushed a finger into her. “Please…”

“Don’t worry, we’ll get to it. Just let me pleasure you,” he whispered. 

He put his thumb on her clitoris and rubbed it, sending spikes of unwanted pleasure through her body. She didn’t want to, but she moaned and felt herself getting wet. She squeezed her eyes tightly shut and put her face into the sheets, smothering her sounds. John gripped her hair, pulling her head back.

“No, no, scream for me. I want to hear you,” he whispered against her skin.

He stroked her deftly, swirling her clit and pumping his fingers in and out of her moistening snatch. His belt jingled as he undid his pants and stepped out of them. She felt his dick pressing through her folds and then probing her entrance. With one powerful thrust, he filled her to the brim. He cupped her breasts, feeling them jiggle as he thrust into her, plowing through her body. Since he had already had her once today, she was looser and it didn’t hurt so much. 

It almost felt… good.

She made a small sound and he reached around to touch her clit, offering her more stimulation and pleasure. 

“Go on, Kairi. Scream for me…” John said breathlessly. 

“S…” Kairi gasped, curving her spine. 

He kissed the back of her neck, nibbling at her earlobe. “Say my name,” John gasped.

“So…”

“Say it,” he whispered. “Say it’s so good. Scream!”

“Sora,” she gasped out. 

She felt his muscles seize up, turning to stone against her back, and knew she had done something terribly wrong. The last thing she remembered picturing in her mind, as she always did as a distraction when John took her, was beautiful cerulean blue eyes and that young man.

“What did you just say?”

“I… don’t know,” she whispered.

“Wrong answer.”

That was the first time John had ever struck her so brutally. Once her face was swollen and red and her eyes were filled with tears, he let her fell to the floor. She shivered in a half-naked heap. When she finally pushed herself into a sitting position, he forced her mouth around his dick and fucked her throat. He finished, cumming on her face, grabbed her by her wrists, and tossed her onto her bed before leaving. 

Kairi sobbed and went slowly to her red notebook. She picked up her pen, tears falling on the paper and spreading the ink in smeary puddles. 

_Why? I’m such a disgusting whore. I should be hurt. Why does he do this to me? I should die…_

Then, she lay down on her bed and cried herself to sleep.

X X X

Questions, comments, concerns? 


	5. Hello, Darkness, My Old Friend

Woohoo! Kairi and Sora are definitely starting to have some moments together. Everybody hang in there! It has to get worse before it gets better!

X X X

The next day, Sora only glimpsed Kairi. She avoided him studiously, forever scribbling away in her red notebook. In English, when Ms. G assigned a partnered project and Sora approached her, she acted as if she didn’t even hear him. They both worked alone on the project after Ms. G had a small word with Kairi. At lunch, he tried to sit with her, but she stood up and went to the bathroom. At the end of the day, he was hoping to catch her walking home and speak to her with Luka around, but she was picked up by her father.

Sora had a lucky break though… 

Kairi dropped her notebook.

All afternoon while he worked at the diner, Sora thought about the notebook, wondering what she was endlessly writing on those pages. 

“Sora? Hello?” Roxas asked. “You are so distracted. What are you thinking about?”

“Oh, nothing,” Sora said and then thought of his painting… Kairi against the door that spilled darkness, chained to it and holding it shut. “I’m just tired.”

Roxas looked at him and his eyes said that he didn’t believe a word Sora was saying, but he didn’t ask again. 

Sora came home to find Luka already safe in her locked room. He knocked lightly, telling her he was home, and went to his room. There, shoved under his mattress, was Kairi’s notebook. He felt as if it was burning a hole through the bed. He lay down and tried to ignore it, but the curiosity beat against his skull.

Finally, though he knew it was terribly wrong, he pulled it out and opened to the very first page. The entire sheet, back and front, was covered in red ink.

_Why does he do this to me? Is it because I’m worthless? Or did I do something wrong? He says I’m a useless whore and that no one will ever love me. I wonder why? Am I that ugly? Am I that horrible? Why does he hate me? I’m so disgusting, I must be… Do I deserve this? I deserve to die. I deserve to be taken. I don’t deserve this breath. He’s so kind to dirty himself by touching me. I’m such a slut, a worthless foul whore. He’s being kind to take me. Why am I disgusting?_

Sora’s mouth went dry and his heart began to hammer in his chest. He leafed through the pages, skimming the lines. The entire book was filled with this horrible self-loathing and wretched questions. He turned to the last page and found something else written on the last lines in deep black ink.

_I said his name. I said it while John was inside me. I’ve never been hurt so much in my life. He’s never hit me like that before, but I deserved it. Now he knows what a slut I am. He’ll never want to touch me again. I’m that disgusting and I said a name._

_I said a name…_

_I’m such a slut, such a useless worthless whore. It’s all my fault. I should be hurt. I deserve to be hurt. I deserve it. I said his name. I said his name. I said his name. It’s disgusting. I deserve to be beaten. I deserve it all. I should hurt more._

_I liked it._

_I hate it._

_I hate that I liked it._

_I did._

_I said his name. I moaned it, I gasped it. I pretended it was him inside me. What’s wrong with me? How could I do that? I don’t deserve that. I don’t deserve anything other than what John gives me. I deserve this pain. I should be hurt. Someone should hurt me._

_Please, strike me down._

“Because of a name?” Sora whispered. “What happened?”

Sora heard the apartment door slam open and then slam shut. His mother shrieked, but he heard his father’s heavy footsteps pounding down the hallway. Quickly, Sora shoved the notebook back under the mattress and then rolled himself into a tight protective ball. His door crashed open on its squeaky hinges, slamming into the wall.

“Boy!” his father screamed. “You worthless little shit!”

Sora had no idea what he had done to anger his father so. Then it occurred to him. He had pushed his mother, pushed her back from Luka. 

This wasn’t the usual drunken rage. This was direct rage intensified by the alcohol. 

Sora’s shoulders trembled and he put his hand over the wound on his stomach. He could get away tonight. Luka was safe in her room behind her locked door and he wasn’t so injured. Sora leaped to his feet, barreled past his father down the hall. Earl took a swipe at his son, grabbing a fistful of soft chestnut hair and getting off a clean blow to the side of Sora’s face. But Sora managed to pull away and charge from the apartment. He dashed into the elevator, slamming into the wall when his feet skidded on the tile. He knew his father wouldn’t follow him so, for now, he was safe.

…

Outside, the night was clear and cool. The midnight velvet-black was speckled with diamond stars and curled with a few wisps of cotton-candy clouds. The moon was full and round. Every house on the street glowed with warm amber light. The air smelled of flowers and soil, fertile. 

The world looked clean and safe.

Putting his hands deep in his pockets, Sora walked slowly to the park that was just down the street from the apartment building. He shivered, wishing he had on a jacket. The playground equipment was moving eerily, casting long ghostly shadows. His sneakers crunched on the grass and then moved silently through the glowing white sand. 

Then, he saw someone sitting on the swings, unmoving, just sitting. It was a girl with shoulder-length red hair wearing a jacket the color of the night and dark blue jeans.

“Kairi?” Sora whispered incredulously.

She looked up and their eyes met. Her violet eyes were full of tears, shining with moonlight. He was sure his own were bright from running and his skin felt shiny with fear-sweat. She jolted to her feet suddenly, stumbling backwards away from him.

“No, please,” she whispered.

“I’m not here to hurt you,” Sora said quietly. “I’m here to escape, too.” 

Her shoulders jerked. “You know? You can’t know!”

He shook his head. “I don’t know anything,” he said softly. “I just come here every time something bad happens at home.” He sat down in a swing and idly began swaying back and forth. “It’s safe here,” he whispered.

Timidly, Kairi came and sat in the swing beside him. “Bad things happen to you?” she asked quietly. 

Sora nodded and murmured, “Bad things happen to everyone.”

She looked at the ground, burrowing her toes through the sand. He noticed that her feet were bare. 

“So,” he ventured, “Can I ask what happened to you?”

She shook her head. 

Sora leaned back against the chain, looking up at the starry sky. 

Timidly, Kairi whispered, “Your face is bruised.”

Sora put his hand to it, feeling the heat coming off of his skin where his father had managed to get off a blow. “Yeah,” he murmured.

“Why?”

“I was being stupid,” Sora said softly. 

The wind rustled through the trees and crickets began to sing rather suddenly. The night was beautiful and calm and safe under the star-filled sky. For a long moment, they both sat in silence. Sora staring up at the sky while Kairi gazed at the sand. 

“Are you angry with me?” Sora whispered, breaking the silence. 

Kairi pushed back and let the swing glide to and fro. She bit her lip and gripped the chains in her thin fingers. Strands of crimson tickled her cheeks and caught on her long thick lashes. “Why would you think that?” she asked quietly.

“You avoided me all day.”

He heard her inhale sharply. “I wasn’t,” she whispered.

Sora nodded absently. “Okay, so you just wouldn’t speak with me…”

Kairi wet her lips and pumped her legs. “I’m sorry,” she whispered.

Sora dragged his feet on the ground and turned in the swing to look at her as she swung back and forth. “I… I found your notebook…” he whispered.

She dug her feet into the ground, stopping herself abruptly. “Did you read it?” Her voice was thick with anguish and fear.

Sora swallowed, but told her the truth. “Not all of it, but some,” he confessed.

She sobbed. “You do know…” she whispered.

“I don’t,” he insisted. “I didn’t understand anything you had written. What’s happened to you?”

She leaped to her feet and stood with her back to him, trembling. “I… I have to go,” she whispered and then she ran back to the apartment building. 

Sora was left alone in the dark cold night.

…

Kairi threw herself onto her bed, curling up with Cleo under the heavy quilt. The puppy eagerly licked her fingers and whined sorrowfully. Tears coursed down Kairi’s cheeks and her slender body shuddered with heartbreaking sobs. 

“He doesn’t know,” she whispered to Cleo. “But he knows something…”

The puppy licked some of the salt from her cheeks.

“He has my notebook. He knows what I am,” Kairi whimpered.

She thought of the things he could do to her now that he had so much sway over her, so much material for blackmail. Shuddering, she clutched Cleo to her chest. He could be like John, choosing to tear her body apart in the bathrooms at school. 

“Oh, god,” she sobbed.

Cleo licked her cheek again and whined.

Kairi sat up in her bed and gazed out her window. From her bed, she could see the park. He was still sitting there on the swings, swaying gently back and forth. He looked small and sad, almost frail. She thought of the desperate look in his cerulean eyes when he and his sister came down for her help and she told him he couldn’t come in. he looked like he would rather have his body torn apart than be separated from Luka. It was clear that he cared greatly for his sister, loving her with no thought of himself. 

Maybe…

Maybe he wouldn’t do anything to her…

After combing her long red hair and brushing her teeth, Kairi changed into her favorite cotton pajamas. She cuddled down in bed with Cleo and managed to fall asleep. John did not come to her during the night and she slept without nightmares.

X X X

Questions, comments, concerns? 


	6. Girl Bound by Secrets

Mwuahaha! More drama to foil our heroes!

X X X

The next day, Friday, dawned neon bright. There wasn’t a trace of cloud in the clear blue sky. No one carried umbrellas and everyone was out and about in shorts and flip-flops. A cool breeze blew in occasionally, stirring the leaves of the thick green trees. The day was beautiful and it was horrible for the student to be trapped inside. Everyone gazed longingly out the windows when they were available.

The weather was so far the brightest part of Sora’s day. 

First, his father had cornered him this morning and given him a good punch right in the mouth. Now, his lip was split and bloody. One cerulean eye was occluded with blood and hard to see out of. Luka had put some ice on it, but it did little to help. Second, the wound on his chest had opened again and it was so bad now that Luka had had to stitch it closed. The pain was excruciating and the aspirin he had taken showed no signs of kicking in anytime soon. Third, he hadn’t eaten anything this morning and his stomach was rumbling something awful.

Kairi didn’t look like her day was going any better than his when he saw her in first period. There were dark circles beneath her beautiful violet eyes and something white sticking in her hair. She was gnawing her lip and her fingernails had been chewed ragged to the quick. She glanced up when he limped into the classroom, but quickly averted her eyes.

Since on the first day Sora had chosen to sit as far away as possible from her and his injuries were slowing him down, he didn’t get a chance to speak to her until the last few minutes of class when Ms. G gave them some free time. She didn’t ask what had happened to his face. Sliding into the empty desk beside her, he put his backpack in his lap, fished through it, and pulled out her red notebook. Her eyes lit up but it was almost as if she was trying not to look too hopeful.

Gently, Sora slid it across her desk. She put her hand on it and then looked up into his face with nervous delight.

“You’re giving this back to me?” she asked as if the thought hadn’t occurred to her.

Sora wrinkled his brow and said quietly, “Well, yes. It is yours.”

She smiled hesitantly. “Thank you,” she whispered.

“No problem,” Sora said. 

She clutched the notebook tightly to her chest, hiding her face with her hair. 

Then, the bell rang and they were once again swept apart.

… 

At lunch, Sora slid into the chair beside Kairi at her usually lonely table. “Do you mind if I eat with you?” he asked quietly and gave her a winning smile. His lip pulled painfully and he tasted blood. He winced, but she didn’t appear to notice.

She looked up from the cup of fruit she had been picking at, hand going protectively to her notebook, but smiled faintly when she saw that it was him. 

Then, it happened. 

“What are you doing with my new girl, twerp?” The high school football quarterback, Riku the Jackass, put his hand on Kairi’s shoulder. “Or should I say, my soon-to-be new girl?”

She tensed, desperately looking at Sora and then into her lunch as if the remaining grapes and strawberries would save her.

Sora lazily put a French fry into his mouth and said, “Go away, Riku. She’s not into you.”

“Oh? And I take that to mean you think she’s into you?” Riku snapped.

Sora looked up and met Kairi’s eyes. “Yeah,” he said plainly.

“What?” Riku snarled, mouth twisting into a snarl.

Kairi stretched out her hand, fingers curling around Sora’s wrist, digging into his flesh frantically. Sora caught her hand, squeezing it tightly in what he hoped was a soothing gesture. Sora didn’t get a chance to make a snippy comeback or even brace himself before Riku made his move.

Riku kicked the chair out from beneath Sora. Sora’s head slammed first into the table and second on to the floor. Stunned, seeing stars, Sora was completely unprepared to the blow when Riku brought his foot down on Sora’s unprotected stomach. 

If Sora hadn’t been already hurt, he could have taken Riku’s blows like they were nothing, but he was injured… 

Riku’s foot ground on the stitched wound, tearing it open anew. “You’re such a pussy,” Riku began and then he actually looked at Sora’s stricken ghost-pale face. 

Black blood bloomed on Sora’s shirt and then began to spread on the floor around him. He was gasping for breath, weakly pushing at Riku’s foot, but unable to defend himself. His cerulean eyes rolled back in his head and blood ran from both corners of his mouth. 

Riku was frozen solid in shock, foot resting on Sora’s chest.

Beside him, with Riku’s hand still on her shoulder, Kairi opened her mouth and screamed.

The entire cafeteria froze solid and then security was all over them. 

Several hands pulled Riku back and he went limply like a puppet with its strings cut. Someone grabbed Kairi’s shoulders and shook her, lightly slapping her face. She guessed she was still screaming, but she couldn’t hear herself anymore. All she saw was Sora and his porcelain-alabaster skin all smeared with blood.

The nurse lifted him into a wheelchair by herself and Kairi realized that Sora must have been hauntingly light. His body lolled over the arm, fingers dragging on the tile and leaving a long smear of blood. They began to push him away and Kairi shoved at the hands holding her back. She wanted to go with him!

Another voice cut through the mayhem. “Let her go,” it said and then she was stumbling blindly forward, following the smeared trail of blood to the nurse’s office. She didn’t really remember exactly what happened after that.

…

The next thing she knew, she was at Sora’s beside, looking at the light freckles on the tops of his naked shoulders and holding his warm hand tightly in her own. 

The nurse was talking to her, saying, “Honey, will you let me wipe the blood off your face? Sweetie, can you hear me?”

Kairi nodded and looked at the nurse. Everything was tilted sideways, like her head was on crooked. 

“Honey, here, look at me straight,” the nurse said and gently cupped Kairi’s cheeks. She turned Kairi’s head and everything straightened out. “Are you alright? You went into shock. This young man must be very important to you.”

Kairi found herself nodding. “Is… is he okay…?”

The nurse nodded. “Do you know what happened to him? There’s a huge gash on his stomach. It’s been stitched up so he must have gone to the hospital but…”

Kairi was already shaking her head and everything was going sideways again as if it would all slide off into a heap in the corner of her vision. 

“Honey, stop tilting your head,” the nurse said and cupped her face again. “Come on, now.” Then, she was wiping Kairi’s face with a cool wet cloth that came away pink and bloody. “Honey, do you know what happened to Sora?”

Kairi shook her head again and laid Sora’s hand back down on the sheets. His fingers twitched and curled, stretching out as if in search of her. Much to her surprise, she felt herself reaching for him again even though she had just laid his hand down. She touched his warm soft flesh again, rubbing his hand between her palms.

The nurse looked at her inquiringly. “Anyway, could you tell me what happened at lunch at least?”

Kairi gazed at Sora’s face. His smooth lids were closed tightly, hiding the blood-occluded white and cerulean sky blue iris. Beneath the flesh, his eyes moved restlessly. His mouth was pale, still dark with the split of dried blood. He looked pale and so very frail, like he might stop breathing at any second. 

“Riku said I was his new girl,” Kairi whispered. “And Sora told him to… go away because I wasn’t… into him. Riku hit the chair and Sora fell. He… hit his head and Riku put his foot on Sora’s chest. There was blood,” she paused and put her hands to her mouth, “coming from inside…”

The nurse nodded and sat down on the bed beside Sora. “What about the gash, honey?”

Kairi’s eyes welled with tears and her narrow shoulders shook with sobs. “He protected me and he got hurt,” she cried. “It’s all my fault!” She put her face into the sheets next to Sora’s hip, sobbing openly as if her body would break apart. She gripped his hand tightly, constricting his fingers, digging half-crescents into his flesh with her fingernails. “Why did I hurt him?! Why am I so stupid?!”

Warm hands gripped Kairi’s shoulders and a wave of intense calm washed over her. “Stop saying that,” the voice said again.

…

Sora was falling into darkness. He could feel the air rushing past him, tearing through his hair, pressing on his skin. He had a feeling that when he finally landed, if her ever landed, he would arrive with half his face tucked behind each ear. It felt like he had been falling forever.

He could hear voices but they sounded like they were very far away, trickling into his head from a great distance. 

One sounded like… Kairi…?

Suddenly, there was a point of distant pale light and he was being drawn into it. He wasn’t falling anymore. He felt the world tilt, pulling him forward towards the light. Then, all at once, everything around him was the color of twilight–deep blue and violet, spotted with crystalline glimmers like stars and swirled with pale light.

Someone was crying, sobbing, and talking in a hushed desperate voice. 

“Why does he do this to me? Is it because I'm worthless? Or did I do something wrong?” 

The voice was feminine and crushingly familiar. “Kairi?” Sora whispered as his feet gently touched down on what must have been the ground. He was hesitant to walk, unsure if a single step could send him plummeting again. 

“He says I'm a useless whore and that no one will ever love me. I wonder why? Am I that ugly? Am I that horrible?”

The words sounded familiar… the words in Kairi’s red notebook!

“Why does he hate me? I'm so disgusting, I must be…” 

“Kairi?” Sora called through the purple-blue twilight world. He slid his feet across the ground, moving in the direction he heard her voice. “Just keep talking. I’ll come to you.”

“Do I deserve this? I deserve to die. I deserve to be taken. I don't deserve this breath.”

Each word made Sora feel sicker. His stomach was filled with ice and blood, making him nauseous. He had trouble drawing in a deep enough breath to sustain his pounding heart. “Kairi, just keeping talking. Don’t try to move,” he called.

“He's so kind to dirty himself by touching me. I'm such a slut, a worthless foul whore. He's being kind to take me.” 

Something was taking shape… a large dark rectangle with tendrils of writhing blackness spilling forth from the top, bottom, and one side. 

“Why am I disgusting?”

Then, everything came into focus and Sora was knocked to his knees.

It was Kairi, similar to how she had been in his painting, but then not even close. 

She was naked, body beaten black and blue and bloody. Her skin was scratched and smeared with blood. The insides of her thighs ran with dried blood, pooling between her feet. Her breasts had bruises in the shape of hands, hips dark with damaged flesh, and there was a swollen red hicky at the base of her slender throat. Her red hair was matted with whiteness, sticking to her face and neck. Her parted lips were swollen, but not split, as if someone had been kissing her too hard. Her eyes were glazed.

As in the painting, she was chained by one arm to the door, using her free hand to grip the polished crystal knob. Spilling out of the open door was darkness all interwoven with crimson-red, whipping and thrashing like something alive. Then, from behind the door, a hand reached out and gripped her wrist.

She stopped speaking and started to scream. 

Another hand covered her face, pushing between her parted lips into her mouth, choking off her scream.

Sora got to his feet and raced to her side. Her wide bloodshot eyes met his and she wildly thrashed her head, eyes welling with tears. Blood ran from the corner of her mouth and the other hand wrapped around the door to grip her breast, pulling on it painfully. She appeared to bite the fingers in her mouth, blood blossoming rose-red on her lips.

She screamed, “It’s all my fault! Why did I hurt him?! Why am I so stupid?!”

Her words bowled through Sora like a red-hot poker, but he was already at her side.

“Kairi, it’s okay! I’m going to help you!” 

He didn’t know where to start and figured maybe he could just close the door on those hands. Putting his shoulder to the wood beneath her chained arm, he heaved against it, but the wood sucked at his flesh, gripping him as if it had a mind of its own. Unable to tear free, he fought as the door slowly pulled him into itself. Then, he felt cold air on the hand that had already passed through the door. His struggling abruptly halted and in that moment, he was pulled through. 

Sora spilled across the floor, discovering it to be soft cream-colored carpet. Standing up quickly, he searched for the door he had fallen through. Kairi was still being attacked on the other side! 

Then, he heard words that chilled him to the core. 

“Mommy, don’t let Daddy kiss me…” A little girl’s voice, Kairi’s voice. He turned and there she was, just looking at him with big innocent eyes and gripping a little stuffed bear. “Please,” she whispered and tears began to run down her plump cheeks. “Mommy, don’t let Daddy kiss me…”

“Kairi,” Sora whispered and tried to touch her. His hands passed through her shoulders and then he saw her mother looking down on her with scorn and anger.

“Mommy, don’t let Daddy kiss me…”

Then, abruptly, Sora was sucked back through the door into the murky twilight. Kairi was no longer screaming or struggling or muttering hurtful things to herself. She was just leaning against the door, holding it closed tightly. The crystal knob burned red in her hand. Her eyes were half-lidded, dim violet showing through. 

“Don’t stop him,” she whispered. “I deserve this.”

“Kairi, no,” Sora murmured and took the few steps that would close the space between them. He cupped her face, lifted her chin so she would meet his eyes, but her gaze just rolled away. Her eyes were out of focus, pupils constricted into pinpricks. She was blind to everything around her. 

“Strike me down,” she whispered. “Hurt me. I deserve this.”

Sora put his forehead against hers, holding her cold cheeks in his hands. He felt a stone of anger and sadness welling in his throat, choking him. 

“It’s all my fault. I was being stupid,” she whispered.

Sora touched the door and it was hard firm wood beneath his fingertips. He pressed the length of his body against Kairi’s nudity and wrapped his arms around her tightly. Her mouth pressed into his shoulder, muffling her words. Her body was cold and the chill seeped into Sora. There were no words he could say that would make this any better so for a long moment, he just held her. 

Then, she faded into darkness in his arms, becoming untouchable shadows and melted away. The murky twilight faded into darkness and again the floor dropped out from beneath his feet. Sora felt through nothingness and finally slammed painfully back into his body.

X X X

I was going to do a little more, but I really want everything that happens next to be in the same chapter! So there…

Questions, comments, concerns?


	7. It Doesn't Get Easier

I have so much work I should be doing, yet here I am on the sofa writing and watching television. I’m so bad!

X X X

Sora came around with a lurching gasp, flinging himself half-upright in the bed and then dropping back against the pillows when the spiking pain in his chest made him dizzy. He put a hand to his head and groaned, closing his eyes. 

“Ouch,” he whispered. 

“Hey, honey,” the nurse said and put a cool cloth on the side of his face. “How are you feeling?” 

Sora cracked open his eyes and looked into her face. His vision was blurry but was sharpening even as he gazed at her eyes. Within a minute, he recognized Aerith’s kind face framed by mousy chocolate tresses and trademark pink blouse.

“Where’s Kairi?” he croaked.

Aerith smiled and said gently, “She’s just out in the hallway talking to Councilor Leon. Now, does anything hurt especially?” Then, she pressed a cup of cool water to his mouth and waited patiently while he greedily drained it. 

Licking his damp lips, he shook his head. “I’m alright. Can I see Kairi?”

“Just rest for a moment, honey,” Aerith said. “Can you tell me what happened to your stomach? There’s a big gash there.”

Sora put his hand to it out of habit, feeling the throb of pain at the touch. “I… I fell into the coffee table at home.” His hand was warm and he noticed there was a line of crescent marks on his hand, seeping a bit of blood.

“The coffee table?” 

He nodded. “Yes, I’m not very coordinated. Just ask Kairi,” he said and laughed uneasily. 

Aerith drilled him with her eyes as if she knew he was lying, but had no basis to question him further. She sat back at his side and slipped a thermometer into his half-open protesting mouth. “Just wait a moment,” she said and waited patiently for the temperature to register. “98.1,” she read once the thermometer beeped. “Close enough.”

“Can I get up now?” Sora continued impatiently.

Aerith sighed heavily. “Will you listen to me if I say no?”

Sora sheepishly shook his head and Aerith helped him pull the covers back from his legs. Weakly, Sora rose and leaned heavily on the foot of the bed. Then, he stumbled to the door and practically spilled through the threshold. The door exploded open and he fell into Riku. 

Surprisingly, while Sora braced for the crippling impact of the floor rushing to meet him, Riku wrapped one strong arm around the smaller boy’s shoulders and heaved him upright. “I’m sorry,” he said to Sora and asked, “Are you alright?”

Aerith rushed behind him, looping her arm around Sora’s narrow waist and lifting him to lean against her shoulder. “Goodness,” she said and smiled at Riku. “Wonderful catch, quarterback.”

Riku smiled nervously.

…

Fifteen minutes before Sora awoke, it was only Kairi and Leon in the hallway talking quietly.

Leon, who was tall and rather formidable looking and commanded immediate respect and silence, had terrified Kairi for the first few moments she had been alone with him. But his voice was soft and strong and she recognized it as the one telling security to release her so she could follow Sora. He had also quieted her when she had been screaming. He exuded strength and trust, someone who was safe and kind. 

“What’s your name?” Leon asked gently.

Kairi looked up into his eyes and found her own eyes drawn to the scar the bisected his handsome face. Leon traced his finger down the path and she looked away, ashamed for staring. “I’m sorry,” she whispered.

“I’ll tell you if you answer,” Leon said plainly. 

“It’s Kairi,” she whispered.

“My father did this to me one night when he was drunk. He broke a bottle and slashed my face,” Leon growled. “He was abusive, but it wasn’t my fault.”

Kairi shivered, his words going through her heart like a finger of ice. “Bad things happen to everyone,” she whispered. 

“Some more than others.” Leon looked at her hard, then glanced at the closed door, and continued, “Why did Riku go after Sora?”

“Sora told him to go away…”

“Why?” His voice pleaded her to answer, as if his life depended on whether or not she spoke to him, and she found everything tumbling out of her mouth with surprising ease.

“Because he was touching me and I was afraid.”

“You like Sora?”

She nodded hesitantly. 

“Good.”

Kairi looked up at him, startled.

“Sora needs some friends and I think you do, too,” Leon said. “You’ll be good for each other.”

Kairi bit her lip. “I can’t have boy friends.”

Leon looked at her, looked at the way her eyes were lowered ashamedly to the floor. “You don’t have to love him. Sora just needs someone to talk to, someone he can trust, someone clean,” the councilor said softly. 

“But I’m…”

Leon put a hand on her shoulder and he didn’t like the way she jolted. “You can trust Sora. He’s been hurt, too,” he murmured.

Kairi fisted her hands in her shirt, wringing it in her fingers. She shuffled nervously from foot to foot. “I can’t… I’m afraid,” she whispered.

“So is he,” Leon continued and gently shook her. “Come on. Give him a chance, just a small chance.”

Kairi swallowed nervously, looked up into Leon’s scarred face, and nodded. 

Leon smiled. “Good girl,” he said.

…

In the last five minutes before Sora spilled out of the nurse’s office, Riku joined Leon and Kairi. 

Riku was larger than Sora, taller and broader in the shoulders. His jaw was square and strong and powerfully masculine and he had big square teeth. His hair was deep silver and shiny. His jade-green eyes were fringed with thick silver lashes and heartbreakingly honest. He looked vulnerable and Kairi almost found herself reaching out to him. Only the thought of John’s glaring vicious cruel eyes made her draw her heart back into herself.

“Hi, Leon. Kairi, right?” Riku asked.

“Hello, Riku. Did you just come from the principal’s office?”

Riku nodded and said, “I’m suspended for five days. I told him it was all my fault and that Sora didn’t do anything.” He looked at Kairi and smiled softly. “I told him you had nothing to do with it and I won’t bother you anymore.”

She let out a sigh of relief. If the school had called John, telling him she was involved in a fight between two boys, he wouldn’t be happy.

Leon put a hand on Riku’s shoulder. “You don’t have to take all the blame. Do you want me to talk to Cloud?”

Riku shook his head. “No. I hurt Sora pretty badly,” he murmured. “I figure I deserve the blame.”

Kairi looked at him, her violet eyes very wide.

Leon smiled sadly.

…

Then, Sora had spilled out the door and slammed into Riku. 

“Goodness,” Aerith said and smiled at Riku. “Wonderful catch, quarterback.”

Riku grinned nervously.

Kairi shuffled nervously on her toes and Leon gave her a little shove so that she stumbled forward closer to Sora. She braced her hands on Sora’s naked shoulders, preventing herself from pressing against his chest. Their eyes met and held. Something lurked in Sora’s cerulean depths.

Kairi felt uneasy and quickly stepped back from him. Her back hit Riku’s chest and he gently guided her away from him.

“So, Kairi,” Aerith said with a broad smile. “Sora told me that he got this gash on his stomach,” she gestured to the pad of fresh gauze taped neatly over Sora’s belly, “by falling into the coffee table. Is he really uncoordinated?”

Sora’s eyes widened and his face paled. He looked at Kairi, beseeching her with his eyes.

Blinking, Kairi said quickly, “Um, yes, he is… Do you see his face?” She pointed to the big ugly bruise and blood-occluded eye. “He fell down the stairs and blundered his face into the wall.”

Sora grinned and put his hand to his cheek. “It’s true,” he said sheepishly and looked into Kairi’s eyes. 

Aerith let out her breath in a rush and met Leon’s eyes. He shook his head, putting a fingertip to the scar on his face. It was obvious they knew something was very wrong. Maybe Leon already knew everything, maybe he had already guessed… Aerith clearly wanted to help them, but there wasn’t anything she could do.

Then, the bell rang, signaling the end of the day, and all the students came spilling out of their classrooms in a rush. 

Riku bid a quick farewell and was quickly lost in the throng. 

Leon, Aerith, Kairi, and Sora ducked back into the nurse’s office. 

“Let’s get a shirt back on you,” Aerith said and held out a fresh polo. 

“That’s alright. I can wear my shirt, really,” Sora said. 

“Don’t be silly,” Aerith said cheerfully and then almost violently yanked the shirt down over his head. 

Sputtering, Sora shoved his arms through the sleeves and pushed some hair out of his face. “Aerith!”

The nurse giggled, putting her hands daintily to her face. “Go home and get some rest,” she said cheerily. 

Sora sighed and stopped sputtering. “Yes ma’am,” he said.

“Have a good weekend,” Leon said and waved as Sora and Kairi left the nurse’s office.

…

Once they were free on prying eyes, safely outside the school, Sora grasped Kairi’s hand and pulled her along behind him as he hurried to the middle school to collect his little sister. “This is going to sound strange, but don’t tell my sister I was hurt today,” Sora said. “And I will explain everything to you later, I promise.”

“But,” Kairi whispered, “You’re wearing a different shirt.”

Sora smoothed the fabric against his torso, picking at it. He bit his lip and then murmured, “You’re right.”

“Kairi!” Luka exclaimed and hurried over to them. “What are you doing here with Sora?” Then, she took in the sight of her brother and asked, “What happened?”

“There was a little altercation at lunch today,” Sora said and rubbed the back of his neck. 

“An altercation?” Luka repeated, quirking her brow.

“Yeah, you know, a difference of opinions,” he continued. “Just a little squabble.”

“Then why are you wearing a different shirt?”

“Um, food fight?” 

Luka stared at him. “You got into a fight and ripped open that gash, didn’t you?”

Sora chewed his lip. “Yeah, well… maybe just a little…”

Kairi was glancing from one to the other like she was watching a ping-pong match, smiling faintly. 

“Let me see your shirt.”

Sora reluctantly handed it over and watched as Luka held it up to scrutinize the blood on it. Much to Kairi’s surprise, Luka didn’t scold or joke with him anymore. She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tightly. 

“Are you okay?” she whispered, voice thick with tears.

Sora returned her embrace, breathing into her short bob of platinum hair. “I’m fine,” he murmured.

Kairi wished someone would hold her like that, just radiating love and tenderness, but all she had was John… She sniffled and turned away from the exchange, forcing herself to put one foot in front of the other and walk away. 

“Wait, Kairi!” Sora shouted and his warm had closed around her wrist. “Meet me at the playground at eight and I’ll tell you everything you want to know.”

She pulled away from him. “I can’t…”

“Please,” he whispered desperately. 

She turned around and looked into his beautiful cerulean eyes–one clear stunning blue and the other blood-occluded. His face was pleading. He actually looked like he would drop to his knees at any moment and beg her.

“I’ll try,” Kairi whispered.

Sora smiled. “I can wait for you until nine o’clock,” he murmured. 

She nodded and once again turned to walk away.

“Kairi?”

She stopped, but did not turn to face him.

“Thank you for what you did in the nurse’s office,” he whispered. 

“You’re welcome.” Then, she walked away from him.

…

Outside, the sun was sinking, ending the beautiful day. The sky was smeared in an array of reds and pinks and bright sunny yellows. As time wore on, the sky darkened into countless hues of blue and violet, sinking into deep murky twilight. 

John had forgiven Kairi for the name she had spoken. 

He called at 7:45 and said he was held up at work and couldn’t be home until late. He promised to make it up to her the next day with dinner and a movie. This gave Kairi no excuse not to meet Sora in the park and as eight o’clock drew closer, she found her heartbeat speeding up at the prospect of seeing him again.

For the longest ten minutes of her life, Kairi was sitting on her bed, looking out over the park and stroking Cleo. 

Finally, it was 7:55.

Kairi kissed Cleo, accepting a few puppy licks, and shoved her feet into her sneakers. Then, she rode the elevator quietly down to the ground floor, bid a small greeting to the old man behind the counter, and stepped outside into the dark twilight. The night was chilly, a far cry from the bright day.

She crossed her arms over her breasts, shivering as she crossed the street to the park. Her feet crunched on the stones as she made her way to the swings. She chose the one on the end and sat down, huddling against the chain. She had her eyes glued to the apartment building, waiting to Sora to walk out the doors.

Suddenly, warm hands touched her shoulders.

She leaped out of her skin with a scream in her throat, but the hands gripped her firmly and held her tightly in the swing.

“Kairi, Kairi, it’s me,” Sora whispered. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

She let her breath out in a rush and took several deep breaths. She squeezed her eyes shut and tilted her head up to look at Sora. His blue eyes were gentle, soft, and tired. His lips were curved into a faint exhausted smile. 

“Were you waiting long?”

She shook her head. 

“It’s chilly out here,” he whispered and shrugged out of his jacket. His body heat seeped into her skin as he wrapped his jacket around her shoulders. Then, he went to sit in the swing beside her.

“Why didn’t you come out of the building?” Kairi asked.

“I was coming home from work,” he said. “I’m sorry I scared you.”

She gripped his jacket close to her chest and inhaled deeply. The scent of him, blood and fear-sweat and fried food, wrapped around her and she found it surprisingly soothing. She closed her eyes and reclined against the chain. 

“Sora…?”

“Yes?”

“What happened today… in the nurse’s office…?”

“This gash really is from the coffee table, but I didn’t fall into it,” he murmured. “My mother pushed me.”

“How?”

“It has sharp corners.”

Kairi glanced over at Sora, taking in the moonlit curve of his face. “How could she…?”

Sora looked over at her and their eyes met. “She’s a… drug addict,” he confessed.

“Then your face…?”

He shook his head. “My father’s a drunk. He hits me.”

“But Luka… she’s fine?”

Sora wet his lips, tasting blood. “I protect her.”

For a long moment, they sat in silence. Kairi was looking at him and he was looking everywhere but at her. 

Kairi was thinking about what Leon had said. How Sora had been hurt, too. How she could trust him. How he needed a friend, someone to talk to, someone he could trust, someone clean. She wasn’t clean, but she needed someone, too, Leon had said. 

“Sora, you’re…”

His shoulders tightened, tensed with fear and insecurities. “Please,” he whispered. “Please don’t say something cruel…”

Kairi’s eyes welled with tears and she sobbed, “You’re really wonderful. I don’t know how anyone could hurt you.”

He looked up quickly and took in the way she was clutching his jacket, doubled over and crying. Her red hair was hiding her face, sticking to her damp cheeks. Her back was trembling, rising and falling jerkily. His heart reached out to her, breaking into pieces. 

“I don’t know how anyone could hurt you either,” he whispered.

She sobbed into her hands. “You can’t know… Please, tell me you don’t know…”

Sora bit his lip. “I had a dream today. Does your father… rape you?”

“No!” she gasped. “No! You can’t know!” She leaped to her feet and tried to run.

Sora caught her in his arms, crushing her against his chest tightly. She pushed against him, struggling weakly and sobbing. He could feel her trembling, breaking apart. Finally, after a long moment of struggling, she collapsed against him, sobbing into his chest.

“Please,” she whispered. “Please, don’t tell. Please, don’t look at me differently…”

Sora put his fingers through the cool of her hair and pressed her close to his body. “Kairi,” he whispered. He couldn’t tell her everything was okay because it wasn’t and it probably never would be, but… “It’s not your fault,” was all he could think to say. 

Surprisingly, that appeared to be the exact right thing. 

Kairi tightened her arms around him and whispered, “Really?”

“Yeah,” he murmured and pushed her back at arm’s length. 

Her eyes, big and innocent and full of sparkling tears, met his and held. There was heartbreaking trust in her eyes, so much trust and hope and fear. She wet her lips and lowered her face, hiding from him behind a veil of ruby-colored hair. 

Sora raised her chin and met her eyes with his own. “I’m not going to hurt you,” he whispered and rested his forehead against hers as he had in his dream.

She felt his nervous breath on her face, tickling her lips. Then, he dipped his chin and his mouth just barely touched hers in the lightest touch. 

“No!” She howled and pushed him back so fiercely that his back his the swings. His breath was knocked from his lungs and stars exploded behind his eyes as his head knocked against the support bar. 

“Kairi, wait!” He hadn’t even been trying to kiss her. He had just moved wrong and their lips had barely brushed.

“No!” She screamed and her beautiful trusting violet eyes were flooded with tears. Then, she turned from him, shoved his jacket from her shoulders, and ran back into the safety of the brightly lit redbrick apartment building as fast as she could. 

And Sora was left outside in the darkness with the perfectly horrible end to his perfectly horrible day.

X X X

Questions, comments, concerns? 


	8. Coming Clean

I have such a headache right now. And it’s hot. I don’t know if I can think too straight.

X X X

Kairi exploded through the door, tripping over her own feet and spilling across the floor in a heap. For a moment, she lay there on the cold tile, digging her ragged fingernails into the grout and sobbing. Then, unsticking her tear-stained face from the floor, she pushed herself upright and nudged the door closed with her foot. She sat there on the floor, watching her tears drip onto her thighs and roll away. Finally, she found the strength to get to her feet though her legs trembled beneath her.

“I saw you…”

John’s voice went through her like a knife.

Kairi’s head snapped up and she met her step-father’s enraged eyes. He was sitting in his favorite chair–arms resting comfortably, feet planted on the floor, back ramrod straight. He looked like he had been waiting for a long time. 

“You’ve destroyed your body, haven’t you?” he snarled.

“No,” she whispered. “I haven’t. He’s just a… friend.”

John’s mouth curved maliciously and his enraged eyes darkened. “Just a friend? I saw you!” he shouted, voice deadly low with fierce anger. “I saw you standing so close to him! I saw that boy kiss you! And you let him, you little whore!”

“He didn’t!” Kairi protested. “Please, listen to me. I didn’t do anything!” 

John stood up, towering over Kairi and she shrunk before him. She pressed her back against the leg of the kitchen table, clutching her arms to her chest protectively. Her blood-colored hair was sticking to her damp cheeks. He took a few steps until they were toe-to-toe. 

“And you lie right to my face, bitch. I saw you with my own eyes. I watched you from the window!”

Kairi sobbed into her hands, hiding her face. “Please, this isn’t…”

“Isn’t what?!”

“…Isn’t what it looks like,” she whispered. “He’s just a friend.”

John made a harsh sound in his throat and grabbed Kairi by her hair, dragging her to her feet. Then, he gripped her face with one hand, forcing her to meet his eyes and feeling no pity for the tears in her beautiful violet eyes. 

“It was his name you said, I bet.”

She sobbed, gripping her hair with both hands just beneath his fist. 

“Confess!”

“Yes,” she cried. “But I didn’t…”

“You said his name while I was inside of you!” John shouted, his spittle flecking her face. “How could that mean anything else?!”

“But, I…” she whispered. 

“You what?”

She closed her eyes. 

There was nothing she could say, nothing that would save her. 

“Well?” John said impatiently. 

“I’m sorry,” she whispered and that was the exact wrong thing to say. That admitted she had done something wrong. 

With a howl of insane rage, John threw her like she was a rag doll. Her back slammed into the arm of the sofa and she pitched backwards over it. He advanced on her, face reddening, eyes bugging, and veins bulging from his flesh.

“Maybe I should just start selling you, you worthless whore!” He shouted. “Would you like that? I bet you would you little tramp!”

“No, please!” 

John fell on her, gripping her breasts through her shirt with his big hands. She struggled to push him off, turning her face away from his kisses. After being so close with Sora, after feeling that gentle tingling little brush of his lips that still lingered on her mouth though it had frightened her at first, she didn’t want John to touch her.

“You turn me away, bitch?! After all I’ve done for you?!”

“Please, stop! I don’t want this!”

“You don’t WANT this?!” John screamed. “You’ll only spread your legs for your new boy toy, is that it?”

“No! I didn’t do anything with Sora!” 

“Sora?! I’ll get around to punishing that useless piece of trash for fouling you, but first…” he grinned down at her wickedly. “It’s time to cleanse our little Kairi!”

She struggled against him, but he was bigger and stronger than a fifteen-year-old girl. Kairi had the advantage of panicked adrenaline, but John was just too strong. He gripped her by her wrists and dragged her from the couch. He tossed her into his bedroom and her face smashed into the side of the bed. Moaning, she clutched her face and tasted blood in her mouth. He put his foot in her back, pressing her hips into the tile.

“If you move from this spot, you’ll regret it with every bone in your body. Do not move,” John snarled and left for a moment to rummage through the back of his closet. 

Kairi knew what he was fetching and sobbed into her hands.

John returned with a small cardboard box of the things he used on her when he was feeling particularly inventive. 

“Please, no…” she whispered, but to no avail.

He grabbed her by her hair, bending her spine into a painful C-shape. Then, he fit a bondage ball gag into her mouth, choking off her pleading whimpers and sobs. He took a knife and neatly cut her clothes. Finally, he tossed her onto his bed which he had covered with a large towel and took a moment tying her arms above her head to the headboard, but loosely so that he could adjust her position whenever he pleased. She would have whimpered and begged him to stop but the gag effectively silenced even the smallest peep. She could only silently take it while tears slid down her pale cheeks.

Cleansed… also known as… stretching and filling her body to its absolute limits…

It was the most horrible word in his vocabulary and he did it once a year at the very most if not once every three years. She didn’t often require cleansing as she tried to never speak with boys when he could possibly see her. As time went y, she stopped speaking with boys at all. This would be the first time she ever received it twice in the same year.

“Get on your hands and knees,” he grunted and she had no choice but to comply. She knew he had a whip in that box.

Cold lube ran down her slit, trickled inside her. More was applied to her puckered rear entrance and her back trembled with sobs. She listened to John rummaging around some more and then felt the hardness of plastic pressing at her ass. Brutally, he inserted the length of long flexible plastic into her, compressing her guts and flooding her with pain. Her stomach rolled and heaved and she squeezed her eyes tightly shut. Then, his finger trailed a path through her moistened lips and plowed inside her. Her thighs shivered, breaking out in goose bumps.

She heard John shed his clothing and the mattress creaked as he got onto the bed behind her. Then, the head of his dick pressed against her slit and he neatly spread her lips to allow himself greater access. He shoved inside her, stretching and filling her. John moaned and bent over her back to grip her breasts. 

“I can feel the fake cock rubbing against mine through your ass, sweet whore,” he moaned into her ear and gently licked the shell of it. “I can’t wait to share this nice hot slit with a second dick.”

She sobbed, jerking away from him. He bit her shoulder, breaking the flesh and suckling her blood. She tried to scream, but couldn’t. 

“Now, now, slut, just wait. What did we make it to last time we did this?” He was quiet for a moment so the only sound was the slap-slap of his balls and the horrible sounds of her wet snatch. “I think four. Two in each hole, yes?”

She was silent, shaking with cries. He ground his teeth, found her clit, and gave it a harsh twist, forcing a sound of agony out of her even around the gag. Then, trembling, she nodded. 

“Now, was it so hard to answer me? You could learn to enjoy this, sweet cunt,” he grunted. “Let’s try to make it to six tonight, okay?”

She couldn’t answer him. Six things inside her… More tears ran down her cheeks, dripping onto the towel below.

He gripped her hair, pulling her head back sharply. “Okay?” he snarled.

She nodded, sobbing.

For the innocent meeting with Sora, for the innocent accidental brush of his lips, for being safe in his arms for just a moment… six things would tear her body apart. Strangely, she didn’t regret going to see him that night, not even in the morning…

X X X

I was going to torment Kairi fully but… I don’t really want to get that dark just yet so this chapter is a little short. 

And I want to skip back to school scenes! 

Yay for school! 

*boos*

Oh, can it.

Questions, comments, concerns?


	9. Faintest Brush

It’s hot, man. How’s everyone else’s weather?

X X X

Monday started out fairly well. The gash in his stomach was painless with pale new skin spreading over it and Luka had removed the stitches. His face was healing–bruise in the ending sunshine-yellow phase with new skin creeping over the split in his lip. He could see out of his blood-occluded eye again and the white was finally white again. 

But then everything started to go _bad._

Luka asked him where he had been Friday night, said that their father had been in a rage searching for him. Their mother had also set a small fire on the sofa, setting off the smoke detectors and Luka had been unable to turn them off quickly enough to prevent neighbors from poking their noses at the door. 

Sora had been hoping to talk to Kairi while they walked to school about what happened on Friday, asking Luka to walk ahead of him so he could talk to her without being overheard, but he never got the chance to. She got a ride to school from her step-father. Behind the glass, her face was very meek and pale, desperate-looking.

Then, Sora realized with a horrible prickling sensation spreading across his skin…

Something was _wrong._

Then in first period–though she had been smiling hesitantly and speaking softly to Sora even going so far as to work with him on the occasional group project though she was still quiet even then–she ignored him completely. She didn’t look at him and only jolted as if frightened when he tried to speak to her.

Something was _very_ wrong.

When he did manage to corner her at the end of class, trapping her in the corner of a grouping of lockers and the wall, she glanced around nervously and kept her eyes to the floor.

“Kairi,” he murmured. “I’m sorry about what happened on Friday. I didn’t mean to…”

“Please, go away,” she whispered finally, cutting him off. “I can’t see you.”

He was stunned and his light hold on her shoulder loosened. She pulled away and quickly escaped him. He was left there, staring at the wall where she had been standing. 

Something was very, _very wrong._

…

By the time lunch period rolled around, Sora was about to slide out of his skin with panic and worry. His shoulders were bunched tense as hard as stone. His stomach was too knotted to even consider eating anything. Stepping into the cafeteria, he immediately searched for Kairi. She was sitting at her usually lonely table by herself with her notebook spread out in front of her and a black pen in her hand. She wasn’t scribbling words again, Sora noticed as he peeked over her shoulder. 

Over and over, she was writing the word _cleansed._

“Kairi,” he said softly from behind her.

She started, shoulders quivering. “Please, just leave me alone.”

“We need to talk,” he continued and gently gripped her shaking shoulders.

She whimpered. “There’s nothing to talk about. Just go away,” she whispered. 

“Kairi, please.”

Something in his voice made her turn to face him and their eyes met. 

The bruises on the side of his face and the bloody split in his lip were healing nicely, revealing porcelain-pale skin beneath the damage. Maybe, he was a beautiful person beneath all the damage. Maybe, the brush of his lips…

Kairi shook herself and turned back to her notebook. “Please leave,” she whispered. 

He slid into the seat beside her, ignoring what she was saying. “Kai,” he whispered.

Her shoulders jolted at the nickname sliding from his lips so smoothly. It sounded like he had been saying it forever, like they had been close forever. She glanced up at him, half-hiding her eyes with her curtain of loose crimson hair. 

“Please,” he continued. “Don’t… don’t push me away…” His fingers, warm and soft, touched her hand. He slid his fingers down her palm, pushing the pen from her grasp, and gently threading their fingers together.

She stared at their hands for a long moment and then pried her fingers from his. “I have to…” she confessed.

“Why?” There was something in his voice–desperation, tears, unimaginable anguish, and something else she couldn’t put a name to.

She looked into his face, into those beautiful cerulean eyes and found herself reaching to cup his face. His eyes fluttered closed at her caress and she relished the ability to just touch him. His skin was as soft and warm as living velvet. She stroked his cheeks, fingers resting beneath his eyes. His lashes were long and thick, like twin fans lying against his porcelain-pale cheeks. Gently, she put her fingers through the cool of his chestnut hair, relishing the feather-soft tresses sliding through her hands.

Then, abruptly, she pulled away and wrung her hands in her lap.

His eyes slid open, profoundly sad and hopeless. Somehow, seeing his eyes like that made her want to cry. 

“Please,” she whispered. “Don’t look like that.”

“Tell me why,” he begged. “Is is… because I know?”

She sucked in a breath, feeling faint.

“I’m not… going to say anything,” he whispered, “I promise.”

She bit her lip and looked at the words on the page.

_Cleansed, cleansed, cleansed, cleansed, cleansed, cleansed, cleansed, cleansed, cleansed, cleansed, cleansed, cleansed, cleansed, cleansed, cleansed, cleansed, cleansed, cleansed, cleansed, cleansed, cleansed, cleansed, cleansed, cleansed, cleansed, cleansed, cleansed, cleansed, cleansed…_

She didn’t want to go through that again.

“Kai,” he whispered. “Please, talk to me…”

She looked at him again, looked into his heartbroken cerulean eyes. 

“I can’t,” she whispered. “I just can’t… Please, go away.”

But Sora didn’t go. He sat there, gazing at her for the longest moment, silent, beseeching her with those eyes. She lifted her pen again and began writing.

_Cleansed, cleansed, cleansed, cleansed, cleansed, cleansed, cleansed…_

“What does that mean?” he whispered. “Is it because I… touched you? Do you feel dirty because I… touched you?”

Startled, Kairi looked up at him. 

Sora’s face was shattered. He looked pale and sickly, blue eyes washed out and dim.

“No,” she whispered. “It’s my… step-father…” Again, she fell silent and stared at the words on the page. The black ink was like darkness, reaching up to smother her cries and take her away, swallow her up. Strangely, she felt as if it was reaching for Sora, too. “He… doesn’t let me talk to boys.”

Sora was still looking at her, but his eyes were soft. They were trusting and lovely, like a puppy’s. He reminded her of her little Cleo… the poor creature… John had drowned her in the bathtub when he cleansed Kairi Friday night. 

Sora’s eyes… like a beautiful dead animal’s…

Kairi looked quickly away, feeling a lump welling up in her throat. The sadness was choking her. Her eyes burned and she squeezed them shut.

“I just can’t…” she whispered again. “Please…”

Sora reached for her hand again, fingers curling through hers, trapping the pen between their hands this time. On her notebook, he guided her hand to write but no words came out on the paper. Endlessly, he scribbled across the word cleansed until she couldn’t read what she had written on that page.

“Why did you… do that?” she asked quietly.

Sora put his forehead on her shoulder and she felt his breath light and warm on her bare arm. Goose bumps rose on her flesh and she closed her eyes again.

“Because you’re clean,” he whispered.

She shivered. She had never felt dirtier, more used, more hideous… She felt as if the invisible filth on her flesh was seeping into him, taking root in his cerulean eyes and darkening his beauty. His breath was light and nervous on her arm and his hand was so warm around hers. 

Finally, he lifted his head from her shoulder and put hesitant fingers on her cheek, turning her face to look at him. 

Her eyes were still closed tightly.

“Won’t you look at me?” he whispered.

“I can’t…”

“Why?” There was that sound in his voice again. 

She was silent, choking on sorrow where it was a stone in her throat.

“Please,” he begged.

Her lids fluttered and then slipped open of their own accord, desperate to look into his cerulean orbs and still see the beauty there. Tears slid down her cheeks, following the shape of Sora’s fingers and sliding between her lips. She was drowning in her pain.

“You’re crying,” he whispered.

She pulled away, hiding her face from him and hurriedly wiping her tears. 

All around them, the world continued on, ignoring the exchange between two broken hearts.

For a long moment, neither of them spoke. Sora did not try to touch or comfort her. She could feel his gentle eyes on her back. Her heart was pounding against her ribcage like it wanted to escape, so fast, so strong. She actually felt strong… He made her feel safe and untouchable.

Then, brokenly, Kairi whispered, “The cleansing… he fills me with himself…”

“With himself…?” Sora repeated softly.

“And with… things…” she whispered and the way she said it made him shudder. “He puts them in places he can’t be all at once… and he puts more and more inside me each time…”

Sora’s voice broke. “How many?”

She shivered and couldn’t find her voice to speak for a long moment. Then, she choked out, “…six…”

He jolted, a tremor running through his entire body. “Why?” he whispered and that sound was in his voice again.

“Because I fouled my body,” she whispered.

Sora stared at her and she felt his eyes. Suddenly, his guilt washed over her in a wave and he leaned abruptly back from her.

“Because of me,” he forced out. 

She nodded, eyes welling with tears again. “He saw me with you. He saw me touching you. He saw…” She put her fingertips to her lips.

Sora put a hand to his face, digging his fingernail into the split in his lip. “I’m… so sorry,” he whispered. “Because of me, he…”

Her shoulders trembled, but she reached for him. Timidly, her fingers touched his shoulder, wrapping over the joint, and gently turned him to face her again. “I don’t regret… being there in the park with you. Even with… the cleansing… and knowing that he would see me, I’d still… go,” she whispered.

Sora’s beautiful eyes widened. “Why?”

She lowered her eyes and then whispered, “I don’t know…”

They were quiet again.

He gently took her hand from his shoulder and held it lightly in both of his. The heat from his body was seeping into her skin, going through her cold fingers. Her flesh began to tingle and she closed her eyes, just enjoying the feeling of his touch. Absently, his thumb began to brush over her knuckles, back and forth, back and forth. 

She wanted to speak, wanted to hear his voice more, but she didn’t know what to say. 

Suddenly, Sora’s voice cut through her, powerful and a little bit angry. “That notebook… you should destroy it,” he said.

“What?” she gasped and put her hand over it protectively. 

“Why would you keep it?” Sora asked. “I’ve seen what’s written in it and it’s horrible.”

“I… I need it…”

“Why? To torment yourself with?”

She looked at his hand, pale and lightly freckled. His nails were chewed to the quick but smoothed out unlike her jagged ones. 

Finally, she confessed, “Yes…”

Sora reached around her shoulders with his other hand and then hugged her too him. Her breath rushed from her lungs with the impact and she found herself cradled in his protective embrace. She melted into him, inhaling the scent of his skin. There was no aroma of fried food on him now, just soft lavender and mint.

Then, against her ear, his voice all husky, he whispered, “Kai, please, don’t do that anymore.” 

Both his arms went around her, tightening and he breathed into her hair. Her hand was still resting on her notebook in a defensive manner but then she felt his warm fingers on hers and allowed him to pull it away. He leaned back and looked into her face, into her eyes. She gave him a nervous smile and tried not to look at the book of hateful words.   
Then, she watched him tear it in half. 

He was so strong.

For some strange reason, once the pages went into the trash, she felt as if a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. Her chest felt lighter, her skin thinner, and she smiled at Sora gratefully. 

He put his palm to the side of her face, cradling the curve of her jaw. Their eyes met and she thought she saw something deep and wonderful glowing in his. His breath was light and sweet on her face, on her lips, tickling her skin and warming it. She touched the bruise around his mouth, putting her thumb to the split on his lip. His nose brushed hers, gently, timidly.

She thought of the light brush from before and of the wonderful tingle that went through her, something she had clung to while John was cleansing her. She wondered what it would feel like if it was real.

Abruptly, that thought frightened her. A real kiss… If John found out, she would be cleansed again. Or what if Sora was faking care like John said all boys did, if Sora was just after her for her body and for sex. But Sora’s nervous touch on the side of her face, fingers trembling, made her think otherwise. 

Leon’s words came back to her, soft and honest. _“Sora just needs someone to talk to, someone he can trust, someone clean… You can trust Sora. He's been hurt, too… Come on. Give him a chance, just a small chance.”_

“Kai,” he whispered and there was a hesitant question in his voice. 

She wanted to wet her lips, but they were so close that she worried she’s lick him, too. 

“Is this okay?”

There. The faintest brush of lips as he spoke. The warm tingle went through her again, pooling in her belly. 

She whispered, “Yes…”

Then, gently, he touched his lips to hers.

X X X

And mwuahaha! There will be more kiss description in the next chapter, but how quickly I post it depends on how many reviews I get!

Questions, comments, concerns?


	10. Writing on the Wall

Nothing to say!

X X X

When Sora’s lips gently touched hers, an explosion of fireworks went off in her body. Heat rushed through her, starting at her lips and coursing down her spine. The warmth pooled in her belly, curling through a part of her that felt suddenly very empty. The place John filled with himself was emptying of him and the warmth gathered there, filling her with Sora and pushing out the horrible used feeling that always burned in her blood. 

She let her breath out against his lips, breathing into him. His lips parted for her and, for a moment, icy fear went through her skin. She was suddenly afraid that John was right, that Sora just wanted her for her body. She feared the intrusion of his tongue. 

Kairi pulled sharply away, but strangely she did not put much space between them. Her forehead remained pressed to his, noses brushing, and nervous breath light on his face. It would take the barest movement to kiss him again. 

His trembling fingers on the side of her face threaded through her hair and gently pressed her lips back to his. This time, she felt no fear, even when he once again parted his lips and deepened the kiss without putting his tongue against her. 

Sora was so gentle, almost timid, shy…

It was a wonderfully welcome difference to the way John plowed through her.

Sora didn’t even crush her against him. He was barely touching her at all, just that hand on the side of her face and his other hand holding one of her own. Her free hand was resting on his sharp stabbing hip, cupping the bone where it protruded above the waistband of his jeans. They were sitting close, facing each other, knees interlocking but not touching. It felt like they kissed forever, but in reality it must have only been a few seconds. 

Neither of them pulled away, they just… stopped kissing. 

Sora’s hand was still holding the side of her face gently, fingers threaded through her cranberry tresses. He put a few inches of space between them and gazed into her eyes. His cerulean orbs were dark, barred, guarded. He was very afraid of how she would react to his touch. Would she run from him again? Slap him? Scream? 

Kairi was breathless. Her heart was beating so fast and her entire body felt hot. She met Sora’s eyes and saw deep fear in them. Why… was he afraid? She started to pull away from him, but he tightened his grip on her hand desperately.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “Please, don’t… run from me.”

Her violet eyes widened. “I wasn’t…” 

She gazed into his cerulean eyes and realized he was afraid of her. He feared her reaction. Kairi glanced at his lips, moist and petal-pink, parted slightly. She realized her kiss still lingered there, still burned on his skin. Then, she looked back into his beautiful eyes and smiled at him. 

“Sora,” she whispered and there must have been something in her voice because the tension melted from his tight shoulders. 

“I was so afraid,” he murmured. 

Kairi didn’t know what to say. 

He looked up into her face and smiled nervously. Then, he confessed, “I’d never kissed anyone before…”

She put her fingers to her lips. A first kiss… She had lost her first kiss to John when she was seven. She tried not to think of it. For Sora to say it, though, made everything crash back over her. Her eyes filled with tears and his skin paled with panic.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered and quickly dabbed at her cheeks with his sleeve. The place where his hand had been was suddenly cold. “Did I say something wrong?”

Kairi shook her head, sniffling. “No, it’s just… it’s your first kiss and mine is–”

To her surprise, Sora cut her off by pressing his lips against hers again with such tenderness it took her breath away. When he pulled away, he whispered, “Yours is this, too, if you want it to be.”

She nodded, smiling through her tears at him. “You’re so…” she hesitated, looking at him. “You’re wonderful. I’ve never been around someone like you.” She bowed her head, resting her forehead on the top of his shoulder. “Is this a dream?”

“No,” he whispered and wrapped his arms around her back. “I’m here…”

Kairi gripped him tightly, feeling warmth and hard planes of sinew and bone beneath his clothing. She inhaled the scent of his skin, pressing her cheek against his chest. She could hear his heartbeat, as fast as hers but stronger. 

Then, the bell rang and they were forced to go their separate ways. At the hall where they had to split, Sora held her fingers for as long as he could, looking back over his shoulder at her. She was doing the same, desperate to keep touching him. But the throng of students pushed them apart and whisked them off to class.

…

Kairi didn’t get to see Sora anymore that day. She couldn’t walk home with him. John was picking her up and if he saw them together, it would be another cleansing. So, clutching her bag against her side, she hurried to where her step-father was waiting patiently.

“How was school?” he asked as they waited for the parking lot to empty of students on their way home.

She had to resist the urge to put her fingers to her lips where Sora’s kiss still lingered. “Fine,” she forced herself to say plainly. 

Finally, the parking lot was clear. Traffic was now stopped at the intersection of the road outside the school. John normally waited in the lot for a few minutes for all the traffic to go down, but today, he seemed to have a time killer in mind. He pulled the lever and pushed the bench seat back as far as it would go. 

“Put your legs up,” he murmured. “I’ll massage your feet for you.”

Closing her eyes, Kairi did as he instructed. He took off her shoes and socks and, for a few moments, did massage her feet. His fingers were rough and cold as they wiggled through the waistband of her jeans, unfastening the snap and lowering the zipper. Then, he gripped the sides of the pants tightly and yanked them quickly down to her knees. He hooked a finger in the crotch of her panties and pulled them down with the jeans.

He slipped his hands between her clenched thighs and parted them to reveal her intimate secrets. With his fingers, he parted her nether lips and drew a long slow lick over her sensitive pearl. Though she hated it, her body responded, growing wet and hot. Strangely enough, he did not enter her with anything. He just stroked her clit and the barest minimum of her snatch until she was soaked and sickened. Then, she realized why. 

John rolled her over so that her ass was facing him and positioned her on her hands and knees. Then, he dragged his fingers through her juices, swirling them on her asshole until he could easily insert the tip of his finger into her. Kairi dug her fingers into the seat of the car, choking on the pain. From the glove box, John searched and rummaged until he found a small bottle of hand sanitizer. This, he licked eagerly and then pushed deep into her ass.

She let out a squeak of pain.

“You’ll thank me for that. I’m preparing you,” was all he said. Then, he pulled her jeans and panties up for her, leaving the bottle inside her. Then, he sat her up, unzipped his trousers, and jerked her face over his crotch. “Thank me for helping you, Kairi.”

She put her mouth around him, gagging as he thrust against the back of her throat. This seemed to go on forever. John was not easily stimulated with tongue and mouth. Kairi hated this. Finally, hot salt went down the back of her throat, making her nauseous.

John put himself away and put the car into drive. “I have a surprise for you when we get home,” he said.

A shiver went down Kairi’s spine and suddenly the crawling traffic was moving too fast. 

…

The redbrick apartment building looked especially ugly and blood-colored in the late-afternoon sunlight. The sky was burning pink and blue like carnival cotton candy and Kairi’s skin felt like it was coated in the stinging sugar. She rode the elevator in silence with John who had a suspicious Victoria’s Secret bag tucked under his arm.

She hadn’t seen Sora and Luka walking home. They had probably already made it to their apartment, 7A. She and John had been in the parking lot a long time.

John unlocked the door and held it open for her. Inside, he helped her from her coat and hung it with her backpack in the closet. Then, the nice guardian was gone. He shoved the Victoria’s Secret bag into her arms and snapped, “Put that on.”

Kairi went to her bedroom and opened the bag with trembling fingers. It was a pair of crotchless panties and a lacy bra with small holes to allow her nipples to protrude. This was rather strange. John never spent time on foreplay. He just took her without care or concern. She stripped of her jeans and t-shirt and then gently removed the bottle from her asshole. It ached painfully. Then, she dressed in the lingerie. Shivering, she put on the silk robe she found in the bottom of the bag and sat down on her bed to wait. 

Suddenly, there was a knock at the front door and a chill went through Kairi. 

What if it was Sora? John would destroy him.

She bolted to her door and put her ear to it, straining everything to hear what was happening. But it was not Sora’s voice she heard on the other side of the door. It was another man.

“So, you’ve really decided to share her, Johnny boy?” The man was saying.

“You know that’s why I married her mother, just to get my hands on that gorgeous girl, but lately she’s become such a whore!” John was pouring alcohol. “Brandy, Bill?”

“No, thank you, I prefer Scotch. What do you mean, she’s become a whore?”

“Well, just the other night, she screamed some punk’s name while I was inside her. Then, I had to cleanse her because I saw her out in the park with some boy and she fought me when I tried to touch her when she finally got home.”

“So, you called me?”

“She’s a whore. I should at least exploit that wretched condition, shouldn’t I?” 

The two men laughed and Kairi’s blood ran ice-cold.

“You mean…?” Bill said and there was sick excitement in his voice.

“Yup. She’s in her room. I got her some nice lingerie just for you as her special first customer.”

Bill laughed.

“Oh, before I forget, here’s some lube. Sometimes her cunt is bone-dry. And be gentle with her asshole if you decide to go anal.”

“Can do. How long to I get?”

“Fifty bucks… how’s two hours sound?”

“Fair enough.”

Then, heavy footfalls came down the hall towards her bedroom. Kairi was trapped, sitting there on her bed, scared to death. It was like being nine again and waiting up in fear for John to sneak into her room once her mother was asleep. Shivering, she hugged herself.

Sora… 

She glanced up at the water-stained ceiling. 

7A…

The door opened. 

Bill was big, bigger than John, and the front of his pants was tented by his arousal. 

“Wait, please,” she whispered as he closed the space between them, but he didn’t wait.

Bill gripped her shoulders and pushed her back against the sheets, shoving his hips between her parted thighs and dry-humping against her soft snatch. She tried to push him off, get her legs between them, but he just gripped her ankles and spread her legs high over his shoulders. The folds of her silk robe fell between them, preventing him from pushing against her naked snatch. 

“You’re delicious. I’ve wanted you for years, you little bitch, and now I finally can.”

He fumbled between them and she heard his zipper going down. She struggled against him as he shoved open her robe and then wrestled it from her shoulders. He put his mouth over her exposed nipple, biting and sucking it. Then, the full mushroomed head of him pressed against her soft heat, probing through the opening of the crotchless panties. He thrust at her, blindly stabbing at her soft thighs and belly. Finally, he reached between them and parted her nether lips, allowing himself to plow into her easily.

“Your cunt is so tight!” He moaned against the side of her face, tongue darting out to make a trail of saliva down her cheek. “I’ve never had such a tight little fuck and I’ve had a lot of pussy in my day. It’s amazing the John fucks you as much as he does and you’re still the tightest slit I’ve ever been in.”

Kairi whimpered and pushed her hands against his chest. He gripped her breasts, pinching her nipples hard and licking her throat. He fastened his teeth at the hollow of her throat, sucking her flesh into a painful red bruise. She felt him seizing inside her and his cum filled her as he continued pounding violently into her. The semen was dripping from her, running down the swell of her ass. Bill pulled out suddenly and gripped himself in his hands, spraying her with sticky whiteness.

“Now, clean me up, slut. Make me hard again,” Bill demanded. “Then, I can fuck your sweet little asshole.”

Her heart thundered against her ribs. He gripped Kairi by her hair and pulled her upright, rubbing her lips with his dick. She glanced at the door, listening to the television running in the living room, and then looked up at the ceiling.

Sora… 7A… Maybe she could…?

Bill pinched her nipple and her mouth opened with a gasp. In that moment, he shoved himself down her throat. Gagging and choking, she tried to push him back, but he only plowed into her sweet cavern. Her lip split at the corner from the brutal pounding and blood ran down her jaw. Bill was beginning to harden again, pushing against the back of her throat like a heated stone. 

He pulled out of her mouth, looking satisfied at the saliva that coated it. He wouldn’t need lube now. Grabbing Kairi’s hips, he flipped her onto her stomach with her legs hanging over the bed and spread her ass cheeks. 

“I told John I love anal. He said he’d prepare you for me,” he grunted and pushed a finger deep into her ass. “Let’s see…”

She gripped the sheets, tamping down a scream as he put four fingers, two from each hand, into her puckered hole. Then, he tore the muscles open, gaping her ass with his hands. She let out a small scream of pure agony. He spit and she felt the heat going deep into her wide visible guts. Her stomach rolled with nausea. Then, Bill released her ass and she thought he was through.

It was never that easy.

The head of his cock pressed against her asshole and then forced its way inside her. He was big, bigger than John. Bill slammed into her over and over, stretching her to the limits of her threshold for pain. Then, his put his fingers into her ass around his cock, tearing her apart. She whimpered in agony, biting the pillow.

Finally, he came all hot and sticky inside her and pulled out. His cum dripped down her thighs. He parted her slick pussy lips and slipped a finger inside her. For a moment, he caressed her clit, spiking more wetness through her snatch. 

Then he said, “You know you have one more little hole. I bet John never went in there. It’s probably your last virgin spot.”

Kairi’s shoulders tensed. Where could he possibly plan to fuck her? She had been taken so many times that no part of her body was sanctuary anymore.

Bill rolled her onto her back, got down on his knees so her pussy was at eye level, and spread her lips. First one finger went into her pussy, another from that hand going into her ass. He groped around some and then pressed at a spot between her clit and where his fingers already were. 

“Well, have you ever been taken here?” he asked.

Then, it dawned on her. Her little pee hole, her tiny little hole, and he wanted to fuck it.

She began to struggled against him, flailing, but he turned and sat on her stomach so that his hairy ass was in her face and she couldn’t escape. Then, he pushed his finger into the little hole. The pain was white-hot and unbearable. Kairi screamed, loud and shrill.

Something in that scream brought John to the door, throwing it open. “What the fuck are you doing to her, Bill?!”

Bill smiled sheepishly. “Taking her last virginity.”

Tears coursed down Kairi’s cheeks and she whimpered in agony. 

“You fucking idiot, would you like me to shove something down your dick? Get out of there!” John shouted.

“Sorry,” Bill muttered. 

“I told you ass, pussy, and mouth. Follow the rules.” Then, carelessly, John left her to Bill’s assault.

“Well, that sucks,” Bill said, “But at least your virgin piss is mine now.”

He once again stood and drew her mouth to his dick. This time, Kairi didn’t make him grab her. She came willingly and clutched between her legs, trying to soothe the pain. She put her mouth around Bill and sucked him.

Just upstairs, Sora and Luka lived in apartment 7A.

“Don’t worry, sugar. I’ll lick you good after this, make it all better,” Bill said.

He gripped her breasts, pinching and twisting her nipples as if he thought it pleasured her. She whimpered in pain. Bill pounded the back of her throat, gripping her head by her hair and slamming her mouth over him again and again. His balls slapped against her chin. 

Sora was just upstairs. 

It was one floor. 

Maybe… she could get away…

It was just upstairs.

It was just one floor.

Sora was there…

Steeling herself, Kairi snapped her teeth down hard on the head of Bill’s cock. A piece of flesh came off in her mouth, bitter and bloody, but Bill pulled back so fast with a howl of anguish and rage. He swung at her, stumbled, and fell in a heap clutching himself.

Grabbing the robe, Kairi clutched it to her chest and ran from her bedroom. John was already in the hallway, looming like a brick wall. She almost threw herself at his feet and begged for mercy. She had never ran from him. She didn’t know what he would do to her.

He grabbed her by her hair when she tried to run past him. Screaming, Kairi lashed wildly and managed to get her foot in his crotch. Something made a satisfying sound and John slammed her into the wall. For a moment, her vision swam and she thought she’d black out, but something put the cool robe back into her fingers and she was able to flee from the two men. 

Kairi slammed out the door and ran through the hallway, looking for the entire world like a terrified horror movie queen. Her bare feet slapped on the cold tile as she ran. The silk robe was clutched to her chest and whipping around her pumping legs, disguising the horrible lingerie John had bought. Her red hair flew around her head each time she looked back, whipping against her naked shoulders like a stinging whip. Her breath rattled metallic and salty in her throat. She smashed into the wall and quickly pressed the button for the elevator.

John appeared in the threshold of their apartment, glanced around quickly, saw her, and thundered down the hallway. 

She frantically pressed the button again. The elevator was her only hope of escaping. If she ran, he would catch her.

“Kairi, you worthless little slut! Get your ass back here!” John screamed.

Bill appeared behind him, face bright red with rage. “I’m going to tear your cunt apart!”

The elevator doors peeled open and Kairi squeezed through the door, punching the button for floor 7. For one heartbreaking moment as the doors ground shut, she thought John would reach her, but the doors lurched shut and he was barred from her. 

She backed up until her spine hit the ice-cold wall and then slowly slid to the floor where she clutched her legs to her chest tightly. The elevator climbed to floor 7, dinged, and the doors scraped open again. She staggered to her feet, pulled on the silk robe, and made her way slowly down the hallway. Behind her, the elevator closed. 

John would be looking for her, but she was almost certain he would expect her to flee the apartment building. She would be safe so long as she hid in plain sight, where he would least expect her to be hiding. 

Like her floor, 7A was the first door in the hallway. For a moment, Kairi hesitated at the door with her hand half-raised to knock. Then, she closed her eyes and knocked at the exact moment Sora opened the door, leaving on his way to work. Her clenched hand hit him right in the nose.

“Ow, what the he–?! Kairi?!” Sora gaped. “What are you doing here?!” 

Then, he took in the sight of her, wrapped in a thin white robe with her nipples pressing against the fabric. There was sticky whiteness on her face and in her ruby-colored hair and the side of her mouth was split bloody. Her violet eyes were red-rimmed and bloodshot.

For a moment, she couldn’t breathe. The sight of Sora and his beautiful cerulean eyes crippled her. Her violet eyes filled with tears and she fell into him, causing him to stumble back through the doorway into his apartment. Sora cradled her against his chest, pressing his fingers through her sweaty red locks, and kicked the door shut on a hunch.

“Kai, what happened?” he asked softly and rubbed her back. “Talk to me, please.” Through the robe, he felt only her bra, no clothing. “Kai, did he… touch you?”

She shook her head, sobbing into his chest. “He sold me…”

“Sold you?”

“Because I’m a… whore…”

Sora hugged her tightly, rubbing her back. He wanted nothing more that to stay and hold her, but he had to work. Roxas couldn’t cover for him forever.

“Luka,” he called. “I need you!”

His sister appeared immediately, like a ghost or a puff of smoke. “Sora, what is it?”

He tipped his chin at Kairi clutching him tightly. “Kai, I really need to go. I’m late for work, but I’m going to be home in a few hours. Okay? Stay here with Luka. You’ll be…” he hesitated, glancing at their druggie mother but she was unconscious on the burned sofa. “Safe,” he said finally.

Kairi didn’t cling to him. She hallowed him to gently push her back and lift her chin to look into his eyes.

“Okay?”

She nodded.

Luka hugged her brother, promising to watch over Kairi, and closed the door behind him. 

…

Sora stepped into the elevator and pressed the button for the ground floor. The elevator stopped at the sixth floor and two big men got in. One he recognized as Kairi’s step-father, John. The other must have been either a grandchild visiting one of the old people on floor 6 or the man John was whoring Kairi to. Sora clenched his hands into fists and shoved them into his pockets, hiding his rage. Uninjured like this, he could probably take down one of the men, but not both. 

Silently, he rode the elevator with Kairi’s rapists and they all got off on the ground floor. Outside, the men went off into the park in search of Kairi while Sora walked down the street towards the diner, content with the knowledge that Kairi was safe in his apartment with Luka.

X X X

I really could have kept going but this chapter is getting really long. So, I’ll cut it off here.

Questions, comments, concerns?


	11. Bleeding It Out

I’ve been so busy lately.

X X X

Sora barreled into the diner later than usual. Roxas was looking a little swamped with customers, dashing to and fro with trays of drinks and meals. Roxas stumbled with a tray of food and for one perilous moment it looked like he would fall, but Sora darted beside him, grabbing the tray and swooping it from Roxas’s hands before they could go spilling across the floor.

“Sora!” Roxas panted. “You’re way late. Good catch, though.”

“I know. I’m sorry,” Sora said as he passed the tray back to Roxas. “Something came up at home.”

Roxas eyed the blood smeared on his shirt. “What came up at home?”

“Hmm?” Sora murmured, confused. Roxas normally wouldn’t ask him anything.

Roxas tipped his chin at the bloodstain. Sora quickly put his hand over it. “I… uh… cut myself.”

“And that made you late?”

“It was a big cut,” Sora muttered.

“Maybe you should let me check it out. My girlfriend’s a nurse and she’s shown me a little about dressing wounds,” Roxas offered.

“That’s okay. My sister wrapped it up good for me.”

“Let me just take care of this table and then I’ll take a look.”

“But–”

“Just let me take a look,” Roxas called over his shoulder as he went to the booth of customers.

Sora quickly backed into the little break room where the other waiters and waitresses had snacks and took breathers when custom was slow and had drinks when custom was too fast. The coat rack was hung with Roxas’s long white trench coat and Sora’s ratty windbreaker and the cook’s big purse. No one else was working tonight as it was a slow Monday. 

Desperately, Sora searched for some way to cover the lie he had told Roxas. He hadn’t been cut. That was Kairi’s blood smudged on his shirt from her split lip when she had hugged him. Finally, he went to the kitchen and slipped a knife beneath his shirt. Returning to the break room, he glanced into the restaurant to make sure Roxas was busy and then made a shallow cut down the length of his forearm. It gushed blood, crimson rolling down his pale alabaster skin. 

Hissing, he fetched a wad of napkins, pressed them over the wound, and then taped them down. Immediately, he knew his story wouldn’t be convincing. Roxas wasn’t an idiot. The wound was fresh and covered with Scotch tape and restaurant napkins.

Sora bit his lip, but he didn’t have time to think of anything else. Roxas breezed into the break room and walked right up to him. “Okay, let me have a look.”

Sora offered his arm like a sacrifice and Roxas peeled up the bandage. Blood splattered on the floor, fresh and bright. Roxas scrutinized the wound without touching it, cradling Sora’s arm between his warm palms. 

“Sora, this is a fresh wound.”

“I know. I did it just before I left for work.”

“This is fresher than that. There’s no scabbing. It looks like…” Roxas looked at Sora seriously. “It looks like you did this to yourself only a few seconds ago.” 

Sora lowered his eyes. 

Roxas was the only person besides Luka who cared about him at all and Sora hated to lie to him. 

“Sora…?”

“Yeah. I did…”

“Are you… depressed? Is this self-mutilation?”

Sora shook his head. “No, I just…”

“You can’t tell me, can you?”

Sora shook his head, ashamed. 

Roxas put his hand on Sora’s shoulder and gently shook him. “Okay…” he murmured. “It’s a shallow cut. Put pressure on it for a minute, I’ll get you some Band-Aids, and then it’s off to work with you.” 

Sora whispered, “Thank you, Roxas.”

Roxas paused in the threshold of the break room doorway and turned to look at Sora. “You know where I live, right?”

Sora nodded. 

“If you ever need anything, please, come to me. Don’t stay where it’s not safe for you,” Roxas said. 

Sora’s blood froze in his veins and Roxas half-turned to give him a small sad smile. It was then that Sora realized Roxas had never believed the stories about wrestling, had never believed anything Sora made up to hide the truth. Maybe he was like Leon and had always known… Maybe he discovered it now with the shallow fake wound…

“Promise you’ll come to me,” Roxas continued.

Sora nodded again.

Either way, the promise Sora made to Roxas that afternoon would become something with so much power that it would condemn many people.

…

Sora arrived back at the redbrick apartment building a little earlier than usual. The night’s custom had turned slow and Roxas convinced him to head home early since there weren’t sufficient tables for them both to wait. Sora hurried home in the dark, eager to get back to Kairi.

Arriving at his floor, Sora listened at the apartment door for a moment. There was a lively girly chatter inside which led him to believe his mother was still unconscious on the sofa and his father was still at work. Safe for now, Sora stepped into the apartment.

Luka bolted to her feet when the door opened, but settled again when she saw Sora. “You’re home early,” Luka said and sat back down on the floor, cross-legged. Kairi was wrapped in a blanket, but Sora saw the pale satin robe beneath.

They had been talking, but now they quieted. 

Suddenly, in the hallway, there was commotion and yelling. 

Luka leaped to her feet, desperately looking from Sora to the door and back. His face was pale and Kairi began trembling. 

“Quick! Get in your room!”

Luka nodded, darted down the hall and slammed her door behind her. The lock slid. 

“Sora?” Kairi whispered.

He looked at her, swore, grabbed her arm, and hauled her to her feet. “Go! Get in my room and hide in the closet!” He shoved her, sending her stumbling on the hallway rug. He pushed her into the closet, pulling clothing down on top of her. “No matter what you hear, do not come out!” Then, Sora closed the door and left her in darkness. Through the keyhole, she could see a blurred portion of the room, mainly the bed and a part of the dresser.

The front door banged open like a bomb going off and a cloud of plaster puffed from the wall. 

Sora was peeling off his work shirt, which was clean and fresh with only the small smear of Kairi’s blood on it. For a moment, Kairi stared at all the scars on his body. Almost every inch of his porcelain flesh was tattered with scars and faint healing wounds. He had a lot of bruises.

She bit her palm to keep a whimper of anguish for him from escaping.

Then, Sora pulled on a ratty navy blue t-shirt that was stained with blood in many places and sat down on the bed. Much to Kairi’s shock and horror, he just drew his legs against his chest, wrapped his arms around them, and leaned against the wall. He closed his eyes and waited, shoulders trembling, for the arrival of his father.

“Where is he? Where is the worthless bastard?!” 

…

Luka was sitting against her door in her room, mimicking Sora’s position though she didn’t know it. She had never seen her brother beaten, maybe slapped or punched in the gut on the fly, but never beaten. She had always listened to it down the hall in her room: listened to her brother’s muffled cries of agony as he hated when she heard him suffer and her father’s scream hideous names and threats. 

She had never known why their father hated him, despised him, and expended so much of his fury on her beautiful brother and her druggie mother, until another night like tonight. When the booze only intensified and focused Earl’s rage.

That night, while Sora was beaten within an inch of his life, Luka learned why.

…

Kairi shuddered, watching through the keyhole of the closet as the events unfolded before her. Like Luka, she listened, but unlike Luka, she watched.

Earl slammed into Sora’s bedroom, door crashing into the wall with such force that the walls shook. Hanging low from his hand was a shining butcher knife with a gleaming sharp tip. Sora’s eyes were closed, so he didn’t see the weapon until Earl already had it in his skin. Earl grabbed Sora by his hair, hauled him upright, and punched him brutally in the stomach.

Gasping, Sora clutched his vulnerable stomach and tried to protect himself from the onslaught, but Earl hurled him onto the floor. Then, he brought his foot down on Sora’s thigh. It must have hurt something horrible because Sora could barely stifle his cry of agony. 

Earl unbuckled his belt and for a panicked moment, Kairi was terrified that he was going to rape Sora. She held her breath, but Earl had something far worse in mind. 

Prying Sora’s arms from his belly, Earl wrapped the belt tightly around his narrow wrists and tied them securely. Then, he picked up the butcher knife again and approached Sora where he was panting from agony on the tousled bed.

Kairi wanted to cry out a warning to him, but she couldn’t. She sank her teeth deeper into her palm. 

Standing over Sora with the gleaming knife, Earl said, “You monster, why are you still alive?! Why are you alive while she’s dead?! Why would she die for you?!” 

He cut Sora’s arm, digging the blade deep into the pale flesh over the bandage where Sora had already cut himself earlier at the restaurant. Earl put the blade to Sora’s throat and made a long shallow cut down the length of his pale chest. 

“I loved her! And you destroyed everything!” 

Sora whimpered and cracked open his cerulean eyes.

Earl put the knife to the corner of his eye, but didn’t press into the flesh. Panicked tears welled in Sora’s beautiful eyes and he tried to wriggle his wrists free for the first time. “I swear if you didn’t have her eyes, I would carve them out of your head and feed them to you! I would blind you, you bastard.” 

Earl pinned Sora’s wrists to the headboard, stabbing through his belt with the knife to pin his hands over his head. Spread eagle, it was the first time Earl had ever tied him down to be beaten. Maybe it was because Sora had been escaping him so much recently. 

For a moment, Earl left the room and then returned with another knife.

Kairi bit her hand. Her skin yielded beneath her teeth like the skin of a ripe peach and her mouth was flooded with coppery blood.

Again, Earl went to Sora and lifted the knife. He traced mindless patterns through Sora’s alabaster skin, coating the young man’s flesh in rivulets of crimson blood and soaking his clothing. Sora whimpered and his arms jerked sporadically from the pain. 

Once Sora’s body was sufficiently damaged, Earl went on to Sora’s beautiful face. He put the tip of the blade at the corner of Sora’s mouth and pressed deep through the flesh. He whimpered, tossing his head, but only succeeded in dragging the knife down his chin in another wound. 

Immediately, Earl raised his hand and slammed his fist across Sora’s face. That broke the dam and Earl began raining wild blows down on Sora’s face and chest. He tossed the knife away. It skittered across the floor and landed in front of the closet. 

Kairi pressed against wall, shivering, biting her hand.

It felt like forever that Earl landed vicious blows on Sora’s body. Sora was mostly silent, making small sounds of pain and protest. 

Then, almost sobbing, Earl stepped back from Sora’s bed. “You took everything from me… You monster, you destroyed everything I loved. You killed her…” Then, Earl stumbled from the room and closed the door quietly behind him.

Kairi didn’t know exactly what those shouted words had meant then, but when she finally learned… she was sickened.

X X X

Sora’s chapter! We’re starting to learn what the hell his dad’s problem is! 

Questions, comments, concerns?


	12. Trust, Bound by Pain

Nothing to say… T_T

X X X

Kairi cowered in the bottom of Sora’s closet, covered in his clothes, watching him through the keyhole. Her entire body was shuddering with cold chills, shivering through the thin white robe she was wearing over the horrible lingerie and the thin blanker Luka had put around her shoulders after Sora left. It felt unimaginably cold in Sora’s bedroom.

After a long moment of Sora’s chest stuttering up and down with labored breaths, he pulled weakly at the belt that held his arms pinned above his head. He gasped and whimpered in agony, face chalk-pale save the blood seeping from his mouth to trail down his chin. 

Oh God, he had been conscious for all that pain, for everything. All along, Kairi had been praying he had blacked out, like she often did when John took her brutally, but Sora’s threshold for pain was too high. He had been conscious through it all.

Again he tugged at the bindings, squirming for better leverage, and his shirt crawled up his belly, revealing his already blackening flesh. The blood on his exposed arms and legs was thick with a crackling skin of dried blood. As Sora struggled to move his pained body, flakes of blood peeled off to reveal uncut skin beneath and the severity of the wounds. Finally, he rolled onto his side and then got to his knees, leaning heavily down on his elbows. 

For a moment, he remained like that, panting and whimpering in anguish.

Then, finally, he heaved at the restraints and the belt buckle popped free to land in his lap. Sora pushed the buckle from his bed so that it clattered and spun across the floor to rest in front of the closet with the discarded bloodstained knife. 

She shivered, digging her teeth deeper into the wound on her palm.

Sora managed to lean his back against the wall and sat there for a long while, breathing hard. Then, he coughed weakly into his cupped hands and Kairi glimpsed blood on his palms though that might have come from the vicious cut on his mouth. 

“Kai…?” he whispered and his voice was so weak that she wouldn’t have heard it if she hadn’t been watching his wounded mouth. 

She nudged the door open, peeking out at him. No words would come to her tongue and her throat was blocked by a stone of horror. 

“You’ll have to… have to stay there…” Sora panted, gasping for breath and clutching uselessly at his ribs with is bound hands. “He might… come back in the night to… hit me again… I should have had you go in with Luka.” He paused, gasping for a deep breath and hacking into his hands again. “I’m sorry you had to see that…”

Kairi’s violet eyes welled with tears.

That was the kind of person Sora was… unbelievably kind and sweet, thinking of others before himself, suffering to protect his sister and now Kairi as well. 

John would have fucked her just for preparing breakfast for her in the morning, but Sora would put himself on the line to protect her and ask nothing in return. She was sure of it.   
And now, he was apologizing because he had been beaten in front of her.

“Sora…” Kairi whispered and pushed the door open a little wider. She wanted to help him, to take some of his pain away, to make him feel something other than hurt.

“Stay there,” he gasped out. “It’s not safe. Just… stay there…” Then, the pain must have been too great because he slumped over sideways on the bed and lay very still. Unconsciousness took him greedily and Kairi was forced to close herself back in the closet.

…

It was early and Kairi was stiff and cold from sleeping curled up in the bottom of Sora’s closet. She had been exhausted by yesterday’s events: being sold to Bill by John and having every part of her, including her pee hole, fucked and running away to Sora and seeing him beaten so cruelly. She didn’t know how soundly she had slept through the night until she peeked out the keyhole and saw Sora was no longer on his bed. Frightened, she tried to push the door open, but it wouldn’t budge.

She forced herself to take a deep breath and not panic. Then, she turned the knob and pushed again. This time, the door moved an inch. She ventured out a hand and groped around in front of the door. Her fingers touched warm soft hair and then soft skin. She snatched her arm back and pressed her eye to the opening. 

It was Sora.

He was lying on the floor, wrists still bound and spread in front of him. His fingers were twisted and bloody as if broken. His fingernails had been torn out and placed in a disgustingly neat pile. Blood still dripped form his mouth, forming a small pool. His face was bruised and swollen, especially around his beautiful eyes. He had been stripped down to his boxers, naked flesh dark and mottled with bruises and wounds. This skin had been… whipped. That’s what it looked like. His flesh was covered in long slashes, wildly placed on his body with no precision or thought. 

Gently, Kairi tried to open the door without hurting him. 

He made a small sound of pain and she stopped. If she shed the blanket, she would probably be able to wiggle out of the closet without moving Sora. She was pretty slender. Carefully, Kairi squirmed out of the closet, losing the blanket and robe slipping from her shoulders as she did so. Quickly, she pulled the robe at least back around her terrible body. Then, she knelt beside Sora, heedless of his orders.

For a moment, there seemed nothing she could do that wouldn’t only hurt him more. Her violet eyes welled with tears and she gently brushed his bangs form his face. His skin was cold and sweaty and he shivered at her touch.

“No,” he whispered. “Please, don’t… not anymore… It wasn’t… wasn’t my fault…”

Sniffling, Kairi dragged the blanket from the closet and draped it as gently as she could across his shivering beaten body. 

Then, she strained her ears for a moment, listening to the sounds in the apartment. It was dead silent. 

If Sora’s father came in and saw her… she shuddered at the thought. 

But the apartment was so silent and sunlight was peeking through Sora’s drawn shades. Surely his father had left for work. Content with that deduction, Kairi made herself comfortable at Sora’s side and gently held his wounded hands in hers, being careful not to touch his torn fingertips. 

In the hall, there were quiet footsteps, so quiet that Kairi immediately knew it to be Luka rather than Sora’s frightening father. Sure enough, the platinum haired girl hesitantly opened the door and peeked inside, as if terrified to see what awaited her. She had a big red first aid box tucked under her arm, but when she laid eyes on Sora it just fell from her hands. She rushed to her brother’s side, knelt quickly, and groped for his pulse. 

Kairi had already been watching his shallow breathing.

Once she detected his heartbeat, Luka let out a sob of relief. “Oh, thank God,” she sobbed. “I thought he was…” then, Luka was all business. She went and retrieved the fallen medical kit and then opened it at Sora’s side. 

“His fingers…” Kairi whispered. 

“Aren’t important,” Luka snapped. “Father always goes for his face and chest. Those are always the worst.” Cupping her brother’s swollen beaten face, tears welled in Luka’s eyes. “Oh god…” she whispered. Then, in a thick voice, to Kairi she said, “Can you go to the kitchen and get an icepack from the freezer?”

“Your mother…?”

“Is still unconscious,” Luka said.

Nodding, Kairi got to her feet and went to fetch an icepack. When she returned, Luka was dabbing antiseptic on the slashes covering Sora’s bare chest. He was making small sounds of anguish, and pushing weakly at Luka’s hands with his bounds ones.

“He’s awake?” Kairi whispered and the icepack almost fell from her fingers.

Luka nodded and sniffled with determination. If she started crying, she wouldn’t be able to see what she was doing. “Barely, but yes. Sora has only passed out from pain once and he was at death’s door then. I saw the reaper reaching for him through the dark in that hospital room.” Luka’s voice sounded bitter. “We were younger then. Sora was ten and I was six.”

Kairi handed Luka the icepack and knelt beside her. “Can I help?”

Luka pressed the ice to her brother’s face, pursuing him even as he winced and tried to pull away. Finally, he settled and she rested the ice there. Luka handed Kairi some antiseptic and cotton balls and gestured to the wounds. “He has an incredible threshold for pain. He’s been taking it for so long, he’s just… toughened up.”

“That’s awful,” Kairi whispered. 

They worked in silence on his body. She dabbed at a particularly vicious slash down the length of Sora’s thigh. His muscle twitched and tightened, writhing beneath her hands. She shushed him, gently putting her warm fingertips on his knobby kneecap.

“How did you do that?”

“Do what?” Kairi asked, startled.

“Quiet him.”

“I just… did,” she murmured.

Luka sighed. “I wish I could do that. Sometimes, he’ll be so injured, but his reflexes want to fight me off. Once I had to wait an hour before I could touch him and he was bleeding so much.”

Kairi looked at Sora’s chest where Luka was almost absently stitching up a long deep wound that ran the length of Sora’s collarbone. His flesh was a mess of new wounds and old scars now and deep black bruises. There was a particularly long gnarled scar running the length of his chest from sternum to bellybutton. It looked as if someone had gutted him like a fish. 

Kairi put her eyes back to the area she was cleaning up. His legs were remarkably hairless, smooth and soft as silk, as if he hadn’t yet hit puberty. Kairi was similarly lucky. She only had to shave her legs and her snatch every few days as hair growth was slow on her body. As she worked slowly and methodically down Sora’s legs, she discovered a deep jagged wound on his foot. It looked like Earl had cut the bottom of his foot with the butcher knife, but now that Kairi looked for it, she didn’t see it anywhere. She wondered if Sora was lying on it or, worse, if it was inside him. 

“Luka,” Kairi ventured when Luka paused to wipe her brow. “There’s a wound here on his foot.”

“Oh no,” she said and quickly went to look. “Damn,” she breathed. “He did that to prevent Sora from running away anymore. I guess Sora was fleeing him at night more often than not lately,” she cut her eyes at Kairi, “going to see you. He can’t run with his foot like this. Can you wrap?”

She nodded and took a roll of gauze from Luka. Then, deftly, Kairi wrapped Sora’s foot and taped the gauze down at the end.

Luka snipped her thread and put a bandage over the wounds she had stitched. “Anything else particularly bad?”

Kairi shook her head. 

“That’s good,” Luka said and sat back. She glanced from Sora’s bloodstained boxers to Kairi and back again. Then, she shook her head and stood up. “I’m going to put the kit away. Stay here with him, please,” she said.

“Of course,” Kairi murmured.

Luka returned with a bowl of warm water and two wash clothes. “Can you help me clean him up a little?”

Kairi nodded and reached for a cloth. As Luka watched, Kairi cleaned him with perfect tenderness. 

“Do his face. I was going to leave it, but you’re so careful I don’t think it’ll hurt him much.”

“Okay…”

Kairi stood and walked around Luka to kneel beside Sora’s head. The ice had brought the swelling down but his beautiful cerulean eyes were occluded with blood and out of focus. She didn’t think he could see her at all. Gently, she wiped his neck, softening her touch any time his mouth twisted in a faint grimace of pain. Slowly, she worked up his chin, dabbing gently as the brutal cut in his lip and scraping away the dried blood on his cheeks. Then, she wiped the sweat from his brow and rinsed the rag in the bowl Luka had brought. 

Again, she gently wiped the remains of the blood and sweat from his face. Content that his skin was clean, she patted his cheeks dry with the sleeve of her robe.

Luka was watching her. “Kairi, do you… care for my brother?”

Kairi’s hand immediately flew to her mouth, thinking of the beautiful kiss they had shared. With everything they had been through in the past twenty-four hours, she had almost forgotten. Then, she realized Luka was sitting there, staring at her with a knowing smile, and quickly lowered her hand. Luka didn’t say anything, but Kairi knew she knew.

She could only nod, suddenly very aware that Sora was conscious and listening through all his pain.

“That’s good,” Luka said and that was all she said. Standing up, Luka took the dirty clothes and bloody water from the room.

Sora’s blank eyes were shifting, scanning the surroundings. 

“Sora?” Kairi whispered. “Can you see anything?”

“A few shapes,” he croaked, “and shadows.”

“I’ll get you some water.”

“No,” he croaked desperately. “Stay.”

“Okay…” Kairi gently lifted the blanket and covered him again.

Shivering, Sora’s teeth chattered and blood blossomed at the wound on his lip. Kairi put her sleeve to it, soaking up the blood without a second thought. 

Luka returned to the room with a clever bottle of water and a few tablets of aspirin. “Hey, Sora. Anything feel broken?”

He flexed his fingers and croaked, “Not yet.” 

“You’re so strong,” she said thickly.

“Don’t cry…” he rasped.

Luka handed Kairi the water bottle and said, “Hold his head to help him drink.”

Kairi nodded and cradled Sora’s head in the crook of her arm. She put the water to his lips, but he only took a small sip. She pressed the pills against his teeth. “Come on,” she whispered. “Please, take these and drink a little more.”

Much to Luka’s surprise, her brother opened his lips and allowed Kairi to help him drink more. 

Sitting back on her haunches, Luka watched, awestruck, as the scene unfolded before her.

This was not the Sora Luka was used to. This wasn’t her I’ll-never-let-you-see-just-how-hurt-I-really-am brother. This Sora was weak and hurting and so willing to let his guard down in front of Kairi when he would never have let Luka see his pain. He trusted Kairi enough to let her see the real him, however broken that must be, and as Luka thought back to the way Kairi just fell into Sora the night before, she decided that Kairi must trust Sora enough, too.

Kairi lowered the bottle after moment and Sora had drunk half of it. 

Then, quietly, he whispered, “Thank you.”

Kairi smiled beautifully, taking Luka’s breath away because it looked so fragile, and even though Sora’s swollen blood-occluded eyes couldn’t see Kairi’s face, he must have felt her smile because his bloody mouth curved into a small lovely smile as well. Then, he went very limp in Kairi’s arms and for the second time in his life, allowed the pain to take him into darkness.

X X X

Next chapter everyone learns the truth about Sora. I promise! It was supposed to be in this chapter but Sora’s injuries kind of took it over. Oh well!

Questions, comments, concerns?


	13. His Secret Truth

Alright, if everything goes as planned, you should all find out the truth about Sora in this chapter, but no one hold your breath! *collects a bucket of cold water for anyone who passes out holding breath* I’m armed and dangerous!

X X X

Sora slept a long spell after that with Kairi seated patiently at his side, brushing his hair from his face with her gentle fingertips. Luka went to the kitchen and fixed a curt meal of grilled cheese and tomato soup which she carried on a tray into Sora’s room. She and Kairi ate in comfortable silence. It felt as if Kairi had been part of the secret circle forever. Then, Sora woke quietly, flicking his cerulean eyes open and searching the room. Kairi once again cradled his head and helped him drink some warm soup. The tomato ran down his chin like blood and Kairi wiped it away with the sleeve of her dirtied robe. 

Finally, she sat back on her haunches, cradling Sora’s head in her lap.

For a long moment, Sora lay against her and then weakly jockeyed himself up on his elbows. Kairi supported his back, trying not to press on the welts that had formed on his back from the belt Earl had beaten him with. 

“Don’t move so quickly,” Luka scolded but Sora, per usual, ignored his little sister and sat up as quick as he could. 

Wavering, he put his back against Kairi’s chest and put a hand to his head. Each fingertip was bandaged tightly where the nails had been torn out. “We have to get out of here,” Sora rasped. 

“You can’t move!” Luka protested.

Sora turned his head in her direction, but his eyes were out of focus, blurry, and staring above her head. “If Dad hit me again, you know I won’t make it,” he said flatly and Luka lost her breath. Sora had never been so blunt with her before. He always wanted her to believe that he was powerful, indestructible, strong enough to take anything life could throw at him. “Kai?” Sora groped about as if in search of her hand and she held it out for him. Gripping her fingers, he said, “You’ll stay with us.”

She nodded though he couldn’t see it. She knew if she went home… John would cleanse her and whore her out again. She would never escape. 

“Kai?”

“Yes,” she said and wiped away a drop of blood that rolled from his eye. 

“But you can’t see,” Luka protested, suddenly terrified of the thought of leaving the relative safety of the apartment. She, unlike Sora, had always been safe here.

Sora pushed himself onto his knees using Kairi’s hand as a support. Her skinny arm looked like it would snap in half, but Sora probably weighed as much as she did. He remained there for a moment, gasping for breath and clutching his ribs. He coughed into his hands and there was no blood on his palms. At least he didn’t have any internal bleeding, but it bothered Kairi how he was holding his chest and breathing so erratically. 

Kairi stood up and gently pulled Sora to his feet. He leaned into her, frighteningly light and cold. She wrapped her arms around him and he held her slender frame tightly as he had the night she ran to him, gently stroking her back. 

“Clothes,” he gasped out and struggled to stand on his own. 

Luka nodded and went o his dresser where she quickly pulled out a thick button-down shirt in heavy black with long sleeves, a pair of dark jeans, and fresh boxers. These, she set out for him on his bed.

“We’re going to need the first aid kit, Luka, and pack enough clothes for a couple days. We’ll also need some food,” Sora gasped out and took a single wavering step in the direction of his bed. Kairi took his outstretched hand and guided him gently to the bed where he could sit down. “And glasses, to cover my eyes,” he continued even though Luka was already gone from the room. 

“Can I help you get dressed?” Kairi asked.

“I’m alright.” Then, as if she wasn’t in the room, he stripped out of his boxers, revealing vicious claw-like marks that ran down his butt, tearing down his thighs to the backs of his knees. Something horrible had raked him. He groped for the boxers and then pulled them on, hiding the majority of the marks. Over those, he wobbled as he pulled on his jeans and then sat down heavily on the bed. Lifting the shirt, he felt for the tags with practice and shrugged painfully into the shirt. His fingers were to swollen and injured to button the buttons. “Kairi, are you still there?”

“Yes,” she said and gently cupped his skinny shoulders. 

“My fingers are… Could you button the shirt for me?”

Her lips curved in a small smile and she murmured, “Of course.” This was a strange and wonderful feeling, being needed by someone for a soft gentle reason other than a tight fuck as payment. Sora honestly needed her help and she was happy to give it to him. Trying not to look at the ragged wounds and bloodstained gauze that covered his chest, she pulled the shirt together and began fastening each button with her deft slender fingers. “There you go,” she said and gently smoothed the fabric against his chest.

He let out a small hiss of pain. 

“Oh, God, I’m sorry,” she whispered.

He reached for her hands, found them, and cradled them in his wounded fingers. “It’s alright. It was an accident,” he murmured. 

Kairi sat beside him on the bed, still holding his hands. “Sora, your father… was shouting some things at you last night…” She didn’t know how to continue.

Sora shivered and ducked his head. “Yeah.”

“Wh… what did he mean?”

Sora took a deep breath and put his tongue into the slash in his lip. “I… killed my mother.”

Kairi’s breath got lost in her throat and her heart skipped several beats. 

Sora pulled his hands from hers and put them in his lap. “She died in childbirth, died giving birth to me,” he murmured. “The woman in the living room is Luka’s mother, not mine. Father brought her home because she looks like my mother.”

“He… beats you because of that…?”

Sora nodded. “He’s always seen it as my fault. Why should I live while she died? He hates me for living, for just living.”

Kairi shivered, teeth chattering. That was unimaginable and horrible beyond belief. 

“Sometimes,” Sora whispered. “I do wish I’d died with her… Or that I had died instead.” 

She reached for Sora’s hands, but he denied her the touch. He put his fingertips to his face, to points around his beautiful eyes with the dark deep shadows around them, blood-occluded and half-blind. Then, he lowered his hands back into his lap. 

“Why?” Kairi whispered and there was a sob in her voice.

“Because… for her to have died for me… I should be doing something to honor her sacrificed life, but I’m not. I’m just… being stupid…”

Then, he staggered to his feet, arms out as he stumbled to the closet and groped inside for a coat for Kairi to put on over the satin robe. He extended it to her and she quickly took it to clutch against her chest. 

“It’s okay, you know…” Sora whispered, face downturned and eyes shadowed by his bangs.

Kairi didn’t know what he meant. “Sora?”

“It’s okay that you know that I’m… worthless,” he whispered and then stumbled from the room, putting his hand to the wall for support. 

…

By the time Kairi shrugged into the jacket Sora had given her, he was already in the kitchen groping into his rain slicker. 

Luka was beside him with a backpack slung over her shoulder, looking nervous. “I have clothes for you, too, and food for the three of us for a few days,” she said to Sora and then glanced at Kairi. “Nothing I have will fit you. Sorry.” 

Lowering her eyes, Kairi joined them at the doorway. 

“We need to be careful,” Sora said. “If Kairi’s step-father sees her, it’s all over. I’m the only one he hasn’t seen, but as I can’t see very well right now…” He let the situation hang in the air.

Luka bit her lip. “I’m the obvious choice to scout ahead, but he could get on the elevator on another floor and, Sora, you can’t manage the stairs.”

“Disguise,” Kairi murmured. “We need to disguise me.”

Luka looked at her and smiled. “That just might work.”

After a few minutes, a fifteen-year-old girl with a heavy scarf wrapped around her long rosette locks and a sixteen-year-old boy with dark sunglasses and wild chestnut tresses and a twelve-year-old girl with a short platinum bob cut a little raggedly boarded the elevator. The disguise wasn’t perfect, but if John got on the elevator, they would think of something. Sure enough, with Lady Luck glaring at them, the elevator stopped on the sixth floor and John got on. 

Thinking quickly, Luka gave Sora a shove into Kairi, who was standing in the corner of the elevator. His body quickly blocked hers from view and their noses brushed, hiding her face. Sora stifled a cry of pain and kept his face pressed as close to Kairi’s as possible.

“Disgusting slut, making out with a boy in the elevator in public,” Luka heard John mutter and had to clench her small hands into fists. What a disgusting pig! “Why doesn’t she just spread her legs and fuck him right here?” 

Tears began to course down Kairi’s cheeks but Sora pressed ever closer, swallowing the soft sound she made just with his closeness. She gripped his shirt in her fingers, holding him tightly. God, John was right here. Right here in the elevator with them. At any moment, everything could fall apart. She knew he would hit Sora and, in his weakened state, Sora wouldn’t be able to take much. She shuddered.

On the ground floor, John got off quickly and stalked away. He slammed down a stack of missing posters with Kairi’s face on the old man’s desk and quickly stepped out into the dim grey morning. Rain clouds loomed on the horizon.

Sora, Kairi, and Luka lingered in the lobby until his car disappeared. 

“That was too close for comfort,” Luka whispered.

“Was it him?” Sora asked.

“Yeah.” 

Sora reached for Kairi’s hand, hesitated, and then released her in favor of reaching for Luka. “Let’s get out of the building,” he said.

“It looks like rain. Where are we going?” Luka asked and wrapped her arm around her brother’s waist to support him as they walked. 

Kairi held the door open for them and then trailed along behind, lost in her thoughts and fears.

Sora thought for a long moment, quietly turning down each suggestion Luka made with a shake of his head.

“The bridge? The library? School?”

Finally, Sora murmured, “I made a promise…”

“Huh?” Luka repeated, stopping mid-suggestion.

“Go to the diner.”

X X X

I’m not too pleased with this chapter. Everything kind of came out in a rush. 

I really want the next part to all be in one chapter and, yes, I will be going back to why Sora’s dad hates him and playing up the angst. But, YAY! I got through the reason which was the main subject of the LAST chapter and polished this off a little. So, everyone, you may faint now.

Ta-da!

Questions, comments, concerns?


	14. Beautiful Safety

Memo: I just have to say thanks and wow for your review! I’m glad my style is so DKDFMGKLDSNdfglndsjgfn (guessing there isn’t a word to properly describe it). I laughed out loud when I saw that jumble of letters. I’m so glad you like my story!

X X X

“The diner?” Luka asked incredulously as she guided Sora down the street. The bag was digging into her shoulder heavily and she paused a moment to adjust it. Kairi bumped into her and muttered a faint apology. Luka glanced questioningly at the out-of-sorts girl, but Kairi’s violet eyes were to the ground. “Why on earth the diner?”

Sora reached ahead of him, putting his palm to a passing telephone pole.

“Can you see that?”

He smiled. “I wanted to make sure. I can see just a little, some shapes and shadows,” he murmured and fell silent.

“Anyway,” Luka continued and resisted the urge to poke him in the ribs as she knew it would cause him far more pain than she intended. “Why the diner?”

“I made a promise,” Sora said simply and groped out at a passing trash can.

“What are you doing?” Luka asked and pushed his hand away from a parking meter. 

“Checking my vision,” he said plainly. “Have I missed a passing object?”

Luka sighed. “No, but knock it off. You’re going to hurt your fingers.”

Sora stopped reaching for things and instead began squinting at objects as they passed them at a heartbreakingly slow pace. Sora was very badly injured.

“Is that a meter?”

“Yes.”

“Telephone pole?”

“Yup.”

“A car just went by?”

“Very quickly, too.”

Luka answered Sora’s questions with the patience of a parent with a small child on a long road trip playing endless Eye-Spy. With such a bland conversation, Kairi had nothing to prevent her mind form wandering to her conversation with Sora in his bedroom.

_"It's okay that you know that I'm… worthless."_

Those words raced endlessly through her head. Why would he say something like that?

She thought of the day she met him, the quiet shy presence sitting down across from her at her lonely lunch table while she had been writing horrible things. He hadn’t eaten. He was shaking. He looked so frail, like a porcelain doll with those beautiful trusting cerulean dead-animal eyes of his.

She had said his name, the name she had just learned, that night while John was inside her. She had gasped Sora’s name the very first time sex felt good.

Then, she had talked to him so innocently in the park. She had been on the swings when he limped up, voice high and surprised to see her there. She had been ready to run from him, crying because she had lost that terrible blood-colored notebook. He told her that he had it, that he had read it, and she had never felt such fear in her life. Sora could blackmail her, could destroy her safety at school. He could’ve been like John, but he wasn’t… The next day he returned it to her.

At lunch that day, Riku struck. Leon’s words, all softness and honesty: _"Sora just needs someone to talk to, someone he can trust, someone clean… You can trust Sora. He's been hurt, too… Come on. Give him a chance, just a small chance."_

Then, she agreed to meet Sora in the park, find out the truth of why she had so desperately lied for him in the nurse’s office. He had given her his jacket as a guard against the night’s chill and she remembered the heat of his body seeping into her skin. His broken words cutting through her heart like a knife after he told her everything… _Please, don’t say something cruel._ She found out that he knew about her, too. That gentle brush sent her running from him, fleeing into the arms of a cleansing. Yet she had not once regretted going to see Sora in the park. Somehow, confessing to him made a part of her feel safe and clean.

She had told Sora about the cleansing because he just looked so horribly broken, desperately trying to discover why she wouldn’t speak to him again. He thought she was cleansing herself, washing away the traces of him. _"Is it because I… touched you? Do you feel dirty because I… touched you?"_ Everything tumbled out after that. Sora was a good person. He was someone she could trust. 

Then, he had destroyed that horrible notebook, thrown it away.

Her mind wandered back to that timid little kiss they had shared in the cafeteria. Sora had been afraid, no, terrified, of her reaction to his touch. It had been his very first kiss, hers too… if she wanted it to be. She remembered how his hands trembled where they touched her, trembled like a leaf in a powerful gale.

Then, when she was in trouble, she ran into his arms, only to him, not the police or an adult or even to school. Even stranger was that she didn’t just take it. She really wanted to get away for the first time ever. The thought of Sora just upstairs had given her courage enough to escape. 

She had seen him beaten and had bitten her hand desperately to keep her own pain from escaping. 

Then, she found out everything. She learned about his mother and his father, about Luka, and she had seen all the injuries on his beautiful body, watched him grope half-blind into a fresh change of clothes with his fingers too swollen to fasten buttons. 

Then, he had said to her… _"It's okay that you know that I'm… worthless."_

The words were still running through her like a terrible maelstrom, spiking red-hot through her heart. 

Why would he say that? He knew how worthless she was, too. Was he saying that even in his state, he was better than her? Or worse? Sora knew that she had no first kiss, that she had no virginity to speak of. He knew John was whoring her out to people, to one person and now Kairi was in hiding. Was he saying she was better than him?

_"It's okay that you know that I'm… worthless."_

Shivering, Kairi clutched his jacket tighter around her shoulders. The wind was blowing through the robe, chilling her insides.

Again, she bumped into Luka as she drew to a stop. 

“Kairi, are you with us?”

“Umm,” she glanced at Sora who was groping for the button that would change the light so they could cross the street. Finally, he squinted and found it. Within moments, the grey ghost was up in lights and they crossed the street to the rustic mirrored 80s diner. “Yes,” Kairi said finally.

Luka smiled and the trio crossed the street in a tight pack. 

Kairi had never had friends like this before, friends she could trust with her greatest secrets who trusted her enough to give her their deep secrets in return. She smiled to herself.

…

Sora leaned over to whisper into Luka’s ear, supporting himself on her shoulder lest he topple over. He was looking a little a pale and winded and his skin was frightening shade of grey. “Look for Roxas. He’s about my height with blonde hair and blue eyes,” he murmured.

Luka nodded, scanning the waiters. After a moment, she said, “I don’t see him.”

Sora could’ve smacked himself in the forehead. Right, why would Roxas be working now? He worked an afternoon shift and it wasn’t even close to noon. “Sorry, Luka. I forgot. He works afternoons. We can go to his house. It’s next to the library,” Sora said. 

The trio slowly made their way out of the diner and lingered in the overhang outside where they were easily seen by passing traffic. The breeze was chilly, breaking out goose bumps on Kairi’s exposed legs. Sora shuddered and clutched his chest. Luka was the only one who appeared unaffected by the chill, but she was wearing heavy jeans with her jacket zipped up to her chin. Sora was wearing a rain slicker and Kairi was still half-dressed. She didn’t even have shoes on.

Luka looked her brother up and down. “Can you make it that far?”

Sora let out a ragged breath. “I hope so.”

“How about I go find Roxas? Maybe he would be willing to pick you up here?” Luka suggested. “Kairi can stay with you, in case something happens.”

Sora’s eyes darted. 

Roxas would be more than willing to come get him, but he didn’t want to make his friend go to any unnecessary lengths. But… Sora’s stomach was clenched in a knot and he felt lightheaded. Each step felt like it was going to be his last and the library was a lot of steps away. He would only slow them down and getting off the street was rather important as people were searching for Kairi and Sora was about to pass out.

“That… might be best,” Sora said finally.

Luka was already shrugging out of her bag and handing it to Kairi. “Which house is his?”

Sora wrinkled his brow. “I don’t know. It’s white with green shutters and flowers in the window boxes.”

“Anything else?”

“There’s a mailbox in the front yard with birds stenciled on it.”

“Okay,” Luka said and tightened her shoe laces. “You two, wait right here.” Then, she turned on her heel and raced off at a breakneck pace. Within seconds, she was out of sight. Boy, could that girl run.

“She’s a track star,” Sora said painfully as he lowered himself onto one of the benches beneath the overhang. “…Or used to be. She had to quit because of the,” he hesitated, “circumstances.”

Kairi perched delicately beside him, clutching the bag to her chest. “Sora, before…” she ventured, “you said–”

He cut her off sharply. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

She was taken aback by the bitter sharpness in his voice and momentarily frightened. She began to shiver, vibrating the bench, and dug her fingers into her bare thighs. Ducking her head, she hoped to hide from Sora behind her veil of cranberry tresses. 

His fingers, bandaged and burning hot, touched her leg and she pulled away, shuddering. 

Sora made a heartbroken sound deep in his chest. “I’m sorry… I shouldn’t have snapped at you like that,” he whispered. 

“It’s okay,” Kairi murmured. “I shouldn’t have… pried.”

He reached for her again, not touching her, just holding out his hand. Finally, Kairi slipped her fingers into his and he gave them a gentle squeeze. Sora scooted painfully over on the bench until the hard planes of his damaged body were tight against her soft curves. The warmth of him seeped into her skin, driving away the shivers that were wracking her body. He put his arm around her shoulders, resting his cheek on the top of her head.

…

Luka was running flat out, as fast as she could. The sky boiled black overhead, threatening rain. Soon, the library was in sight and her chest was burning with exertion. Her legs were getting that tingling sensation as her muscles stretched and flexed. Finally, she reached the row of houses that stretched on the left side of the tall library, casting them in its shadow in the early morning light. 

Luka slowed to a jog. “White with green shutters, flowers in window boxes, mailbox with stenciled birds,” she panted to herself, scanning the houses. 

She found it quickly, but hesitated at the gate. For a moment, she regretted coming alone. She was only a twelve-year-old girl and she didn’t want to meet this Roxas on her own. She hugged herself tightly, shivering, but then she thought of her brother. Sora with that gash in his mouth and his blood-occluded eyes, half-blind, trusting her to do this, so hurt that he couldn’t come with her… Immediately, she lifted her chin, opened the gate, and marched up to the front door. 

She rang the bell twice.

Almost immediately, the door was opened, but not by the man Sora had described. It was a young woman, tall and slender and fair, with soft violet eyes and long golden blonde hair. She was wearing a white blouse and white shorts and her feet were bare. For a moment, Luka was frightened, but then the young woman smiled and all her fear just melted away.

“Hi,” Luka said softly. “I’m looking for Roxas.”

“Come in,” the young woman said and Luka did. 

The inside of the house was comfortable and warm. The living room walls were painted pale blue with rich leather furniture and beautiful pictures on the walls in gold frames. Down the hall, Luka could see into the glowing kitchen, shining with copper pots and pans. It smelled like breakfast, like bacon and eggs.

“Namine, who was at the door?” a man’s voice called. 

The young woman seated Luka in the overstuffed armchair with a glowing smile and then hurried to the kitchen. There was a crash, like a dropped pot, and then the man Sora had described came darting down the hall in a panic with the young woman close behind him, though she still looked serene and fair. 

“Are you Roxas?” Luka asked. For some reason, her mind was caught on that one track… Roxas, Roxas, Roxas…

He sat down on the footstool in front of her and took her cold fingers in his own. His hands were warm and damp. “Yes, I’m Roxas.” He had Sora’s eyes, those beautiful cerulean orbs that shone like the deepest depths of the ocean. She knew immediately that she could trust him.

Then, Luka’s brain rushed into action, darting away from that one track, and everything came tumbling out of her mouth in such a rush that it was a wonder Roxas could understand her at all.. “Sora sent me. I’m his sister. I’m Sora’s sister, Luka. Sora’s hurt. He went to the diner looking for you, but you weren’t there. He’s too hurt to make it all the way here so he sent me. He stayed with Kairi back at the diner. He thought maybe you’d come get him.” Luka was ready to go on forever, but Roxas put a finger to her lips.

“Take a breath,” he said to her and then turned to the young woman. “Namine, will you stay here? I’m going to go get Sora and,” he looked back at Luka, “Kairi, was it?”

Luka nodded.

“I’m going to go get them.”

The young woman was already at the door, holding Roxas’s coat for him and dangling the car keys. 

“You’re an angel,” Roxas said as he slipped into the coat. He kissed her cheek. “I’ll be right back.” Then, he blew out the door like a gust of wind. 

The young woman came and sat where Roxas had been. She put a hand to her chest and said, “My name is Namine.”

“I’m Luka.” She had never seen such a beautiful woman before.

“Have you eaten?”

Luka shook her head.

“I’ll continue making breakfast. Roxas is a better cook than I, though,” she said with a dainty laugh. 

“Can I… Can I go with you?” For some reason, Luka just didn’t want to be alone right now.

“Of course,” Namine said with a smile and held out her hand. Luka took it almost eagerly and found her hands to be warm and soft. 

The kitchen was open and spacious, with polished granite countertops spread with the making of a beautiful breakfast. There was a bouquet of silvery irises on the small breakfast table. At the island, in front of one barstool, was a spread of art supplies and a sketchbook. 

Curiously, Luka craned her neck and was shocked to discover a perfect drawing of herself, right down to the tattered shoes she was wearing and her uneven bob of platinum hair. “Wow,” she breathed. “Did Roxas do this?”

Namine cracked an egg and scrambled it deftly. “No,” she said and smiled. “I did.”

“But… I’ve never seen you before,” Luka murmured.

Namine continued scrambling away at the egg. 

“Were you… stalking us?” Luka said yet she still did not feel threatened by this young woman. 

Namine laughed and it was like a chorus of bells, like tumbling water. “No. Occasionally, not all the time, I go into a trance when I draw and when I do I draw things I have never seen but will soon discover,” she said mysteriously.

“So, you draw the future?”

“Not always, but occasionally.” Namine poured the egg into a heated skillet and added some finely chopped onions. 

Luka rested her chin on her hands, watching Namine gracefully work. She was so beautiful. Maybe one day, Luka could be that beautiful too.

…

Roxas was driving like a maniac, a million miles an hour with a lead foot, to the diner. His panic proved unnecessary. Sora, beaten within an inch of his life with dark sunglasses on, was sitting on the bench in front of the diner with a small girl his own age pressed against his side. She had a dark scarf tied down over her hair, but Roxas could see tendrils of cranberry red peeking out. He pulled into the parking lot and left the car running with the keys in the ignition.

“Sora? Kairi?”

The girl looked up and she had beautiful eyes, violet colored, just like Namine’s. For a moment, fear flashed on her face and she looked about to bolt, but Sora stayed her with a curiously bandaged hand. 

“Roxas, thank you for coming to get us,” Sora said and smiled. There was a massive split in his lip, all thick with dried blood.

“N-no problem,” Roxas said. 

Kairi stood up, clutching a bag to her chest. Her feet were bare and cut, long legs prickled with goose bumps, and it looked like she was wearing only a robe beneath Sora’s jacket. Painfully, Sora stood up from the bench and he put his hands to his midsection, gasping for breath. What these kids had been through in the past few hours, Roxas barely wanted to know. 

Kairi took Sora’s hand, leading him to the car, where Roxas was holding the rear door open for them. Was Sora blinded? Both teens slipped into the back seat. Kairi pressed tightly against Sora’s side, shivering fearfully. Her beautiful eyes were darting constantly, like a frightened animal, but Sora exuded trust and safety. Eventually, as Roxas put the car in drive and pulled out onto the road, Kairi relaxed against Sora and closed her eyes.

They were safe now… for now…

X X X

I want to keep going, but these chapters are getting almost ridiculously long! Grr! This story is so easy to write!

Questions, comments, concerns?


	15. Namine's Regret

Hmm, ages…

Luka: twelve

Kairi: fifteen

Sora: sixteen

Namine: twenty-one

Roxas: twenty-two

I think that’ll about do it.

X X X

It was just starting to rain when Roxas pulled back into the library parking lot where he kept his car. The first cold fat drops slammed down on the windshield and he groaned. He never had an umbrella when he needed one. Hell, he never even took and umbrella with him even if the was a hundred percent chance of rain that day. For him to take an umbrella, it had to be pouring when he left the house. Now, he wished he had planned ahead. 

Sora couldn’t run and he couldn’t very well get soaked through. If he was as injured as his slow moments suggested, the rain would reopen many of his wounds and soak the bandages. Kairi didn’t look like she would leave Sora’s side for any reason. 

Sighing, Roxas decided he would just have to run to the house, fetch an umbrella, and come back out to get the kids. 

Then, always the answer to his prayers, Namine stepped out of the house beneath her favorite white umbrella with several other tucked under her arm. She was smiling that beautiful serene smile of hers as she crossed the parking lot toward him.

Luka was lingering in the open doorway, looking far older than any twelve-year-old should ever have to. 

Roxas pushed open his door and took the umbrellas from Namine’s arms. Then, he pecked her lightly on the cheek and said, “Where would I be without you?”

“You’d be rather wet,” she said with a small laugh. 

Smiling, Roxas opened the door and held up the umbrella for Kairi as she slipped out of the car. Then, she held the umbrella over both her and Sora and they began making a slow trek across the lot with Namine while Roxas fetched the bag from the backseat. It was heavy. It was a wonder Kairi hadn’t been pounded into the ground by the weight of it. 

Inside, Luka put her arms around her brother and helped him from his jacket. Kairi and Namine shook off the umbrellas on the small porch. Roxas hurried through the rain, ducked under his own umbrella. Then, everyone packed into the kitchen. 

Kairi was still wearing Sora’s jacket. Sora’s blood-occluded eyes troubled Roxas greatly and he spent several minutes speaking with Sora quietly about whether he could even see. Luka and Namine were talking like old friends, close and laughing. Finally, Roxas took over the cooking and had a glorious meal spread out within minutes. 

Then, the conversation began.

“Sora, what happened?” Roxas said in a no-nonsense tone of voice.

For a moment, Sora appeared to consider lying, but then he put a piece of egg into his mouth and murmured, “Dad hits me.”

“He hits you? Look at your face!”

Sora stared at his lap, eyes out of focus again.

Namine put her hand over Roxas’s fingers and smiled at him serenely. “You are going about this the wrong way,” she murmured. “It is not Sora’s fault.”

Luka took a great gulp of orange juice and Kairi pushed her food around her plate.

“Sora, how long has this been going on?” Namine asked with her gentle eyes focused on her plate. She had a gentle way about her. 

Roxas relaxed in his seat.

“A… long time,” Sora said finally. 

Namine didn’t say anything. She just waited patiently, cutting her sausage into dainty pieces.

Then, Sora continued, “Since I was old enough to understand… maybe two years old.”

“And you’re seventeen now?”

“Sixteen.”

“Fourteen years,” Namine murmured. “A fearsome number.” She turned to Luka and said kindly, “Have you been hit as well?”

Luka shook her head. “Sora always protects me,” she whispered and then said even quieter, “And Dad has never even gone after me. He only ever goes for Sora.”

Namine nodded and put a piece of sausage into her mouth. Then, she turned her eyes to Kairi and murmured, “What is your story?”

Kairi wanted to lie, to run, but Sora had laid everything bare for these people. And this woman’s eyes were so soft, so compassionate, that Kairi knew she could be trusted. “My step-father… touches me,” she confessed.

“Just touches?” Namine’s face had gone rather white and Roxas was looked at her with concern in his beautiful eyes. 

Kairi shook her head. “No…” 

Sora wrapped his warm fingers around her wrist and soothed her silently. 

“He… sold me to a man… like a prostitute,” Kairi whispered. “I ran away…” She looked at Sora and he reached for her hand with a small smile. 

“Is this the first time?”

She nodded.

“But before that… has he always been touching you?”

“Yes, since I was seven… and he’s been,” she swallowed, “raping me since I was nine…”

Namine reached across the table and touched Kairi’s shaking hand. “It’s not your fault,” she said with an incredibly sad smile, as if she knew exactly what Kairi was going through. “After breakfast, we’ll get you some clothes and a hot shower. How does that sound?”

Kairi nodded and felt the first tears roll down her face. She didn’t even know why she was crying, but Sora drew her into a gentle hug. 

Then, Roxas led the breakfast conversation into a lighter topic. The kids had been through a lot, but they had come out of hiding for help. Kairi had run to Sora. Sora had taken this last beating, but now he had gotten himself and his sister out of there. They would be safe here for as long as they needed to be, but eventually… the police would have to be brought in. 

Things couldn’t keep going on like this.

…

After breakfast, Namine brought Kairi to the bedroom she shared with Roxas and knelt at her dresser to pull out some clean clothing for the young girl to borrow. Kairi was a shivering mess, her face streaked with tears and her eyes red and puffy. 

Namine sat down on the bed and patted the space beside her. 

Kairi came timidly to sit, perching on the edge of the bed. Her weight was so slight that she didn’t even shift the mattress. 

“You know, I was living with my uncle when I was your age. My parents were dead, killed in a car accident,” Namine said after a long moment of silence. “He molested me… everyday. I’d wake up in the morning and there he’d be, sleeping beside me with his hands on my body.” 

Kairi started, whipping her head around to look at Namine so fast that she thought she’d break her neck. “But you’re so…”

Namine’s lips curved in a small smile. “That’s Roxas’s doing. I used to hate myself. I only wore browns and greens. I wasn’t good enough for beautiful colors,” she murmured and spun a lock of blonde hair around her long finger. “I met Roxas after a long and horrible night at the hospital.”

“You were hospitalized?”

Namine shook her head. “No, I’m a nurse, but a young girl came in that night. She reminded me so much of myself that I felt sick. I was supposed to give her stitches. Her father had cut her face, carved it like a Thanksgiving turkey, but I couldn’t do it. I just… I ran.” 

Kairi was silent, staring at her hands.

She took a deep breath. “I went to that little diner and just sat in the rear booth and cried. Roxas brought me a cup of hot tea and sat across from me. For a while, he didn’t say anything, just sat there… looking at me for the longest time. I felt like her could see all of me, all my sins.” 

“Could he?”

She let out a small laugh. “Then, he just said, ‘Brown doesn’t suit you,’ and smiled at me. I think I fell in love with him, right then and there. It’s hard to believe that was only last year. I feel as if I’ve been with him forever.”

“You told him?” Kairi whispered.

Namine nodded slowly. “It took a long time for me to trust him enough to tell him that, though. I was afraid once he knew what had happened to me he would think I was dirty and he wouldn’t want to touch me ever again. You see, I was starting to crave him like a drug. He was everything to me,” she smiled, “He still is. When I finally told him, he was quiet for a long time. I was so afraid that I got up and I ran.”

Kairi looked up into Namine’s face, curious and frightened. 

“He came after me, chasing me through the rain on a day much like this one and when he caught me, he just held me tightly against him. I remember him being so warm.” She closed her eyes, smiling blissfully. “He took me home with him and dried me off. When he asked me to move in with him, I left my uncle behind and never looked back.”

Kairi lowered her eyes, surely thinking that her own story could never be that happy. 

“Do you know what I regret most in my life, Kairi?”

She shook her head, eyes welling with tears again.

“I let my uncle get away with it.”

Kairi’s head snapped up again.

Namine nodded. “I never told anyone except Roxas. I never turned my uncle in to the police. He hurt me like that, destroyed me, and he was never punished. That is the only thing I regret in this life,” she confessed. Then, she kissed Kairi’s forehead and stood up. “The shower’s just through that door,” she said.

“Wait!”

Namine stopped in the doorway, looking back over her shoulder at Kairi. 

“Why would you tell me that…?” Kairi whispered.

Namine smiled and murmured, “Because I don’t want you to end up like me.” 

Then, she left the room and the light from the hallway spilled in through the space her body had once been. Kairi was left, gripping the white clothing and wondering what it was she should do now.

X X X

Once again, I could have kept going, but I really like how powerful this chapter is, so I’m going to leave it this way. 

Questions, comments, concerns?


	16. Worst Help Wanted

Nothing to say… This is my third chapter of the day though.

X X X

Rain was pattering against the windowpane, tapping like powerful spying fingers that sought to break into the house. The wind howled through the eaves, giving the flowers in the window boxes a good lashing. The garden was also taking a beating. Ripe tomatoes falling from the stems, squash leaves bowing beneath the onslaught of water, loose leaves blowing in the powerful gale. 

Namine went into the living room where Sora and Luka were sitting quietly, watching television. Roxas was in the kitchen, cleaning up the breakfast dishes, and Kairi was in the shower. She silently drew back the curtains and sat down in her favorite chair. 

For a long while, everyone was quiet. 

The only sounds were the television, blaring recorded laughter, and the raging of the storm. It was a good day to be inside, to be safe.

Finally, Roxas came into the living room, drying his hands on his jeans. “You are all certainly very quiet,” he said and sat down beside Namine’s legs. 

She adjusted to accommodate him, parting her thighs for him to lean back against her chest. She cradled him in her arms, putting her face into his spiky blonde tresses. “It has been a long morning,” she said lightly.

Roxas nodded and turned his face to look up at her. Her violet eyes were glassy, as if she was about to cry. He cupped her face wordlessly and she nuzzled against his palm, closing her eyes. A single tear ran down her cheek and he brushed it away with is thumb. 

“Are you alright?” he asked.

“Yes… I was only talking to Kairi…”

Roxas already knew what they had been talking about. He tried not to look grim.

Finally, Kairi came out and sat beside Sora on the couch. She put her head on his shoulder and he reached to grip her hand. Namine and Roxas watched the two teens, reminded of the perfect bond they shared as well.

...

Riku was a little curious and a little more concerned. Neither Kairi nor Sora had been in school for a while, but maybe it only seemed like a long time because he had been suspended. He wanted to apologize to Sora for going after him in the cafeteria and apologize to Kairi for scaring her which ultimately led to Sora’s involvement. 

He had fucked up pretty badly. 

But Kairi and Sora were nowhere to be found.

When school ended, Riku purposefully missed his bus and wandered around the blocks surrounding the school. 

He knew Sora walked home each day. His bus often passed Sora and who Riku assumed was his little sister. God knew Sora didn’t have a girlfriend. Hell, Sora didn’t have any friends. It was almost as if he purposefully pushed everyone away… everyone except Kairi. 

Kairi was equally standoffish. She was quiet in class and had been eating lunch alone until Sora came along. Even then, it didn’t look like she spoke to Sora much. That was why Riku was going to make her his new girl, introduce her to some people, get her some friends. See, he wasn’t a completely bad guy.

Wrinkling his brow, he scanned the businesses. There were no houses in this area, just one old and lonely redbrick apartment building. Riku decided to start looking there.   
Let’s see. Kairi’s last name was Hart and Sora’s was… umm, hmm, Strife!

Stepping into the lobby, Riku meandered over to the front desk where an old man was bent over a crossword puzzle with hellish determination. “A four letter word for pinkish…” the old man was muttering to himself over and over. 

“Rosy,” Riku suggested. 

“Aha! That’s it! Thank you, Sora, my boy…” the old man squinted at Riku. “Why, you’re not Sora.”

Riku couldn’t help grinning. “No, my name is Riku. I’m a friend of Sora’s so you’re really close.”

“Ah, a friend of Sora’s,” the old man said and adjusted his glasses. “What can I do for you, friend of Sora’s?”

“I’m visiting Sora and, being the dope he is, he forgot to give me his apartment number,” Riku said, praying this would work. Everything was going far too well. It was just too easy. “I’m also looking for Kairi Hart. We were going to surprise her.”

“Well,” the old man shuffled through some papers. “It turns out Kairi lives just below Sora in apartment 6A. Sora lives in 7A. Send my love to both of them.” Then, the old man shoved the papers back into his drawer and bent back over his crossword. 

Way too easy… 

…

Riku rode the elevator to the seventh floor first and knocked on Sora’s door. For a long while, there was no answer so Riku knocked again. A bedraggled woman opened the door. Her face was grey and pocked, her hair dull and lackluster, and she looked nothing like Sora. 

Maybe the old man was confused.

“Sorry, I’m looking for Sora Strife. Maybe I have the wrong apartment,” Riku began. 

The woman cut him off, shaking her head violently. He caught a strong whiff of body odor and something burning. “Sora’s in school,” the woman slurred, “with Luka.”

Riku furrowed his brow. If Sora wasn’t at home and he wasn’t at school, then where could he be? It didn’t seem prudent to tell this woman that Sora wasn’t in school either so Riku excused himself.

“Oh, I’m sorry to bother you then,” he said quickly. 

She nodded, eyes out of focus and a big bruise on her face, and closed the door with a bang. 

“Well, that wasn’t very productive,” Riku muttered to himself.

…

Once again, Riku boarded the elevator and went to the sixth floor. He knocked but received no answer. It was a little before five so he decided to wait a bit. This time, it would be very productive. After only a few minutes, the elevator dinged and a man got off. Immediately, his eyes lit on Riku and he smiled kindly. 

“Hello,” he said nicely. “Can I help you?”

“Hi, I’m looking for Kairi,” Riku said and felt a chill go down his spine when the man’s eyes darkened but that smile stayed in place. 

“Another boy,” Riku swore he heard the man say but he couldn’t be sure what he was referring to.

“I go to school with Kairi,” Riku explained. “We have a class and lunch together.”

“Are you Sora?” The man said and there was a frightening inflection in his voice.

Another chill went down Riku’s spine. He quickly shook his head. “No, my name is Riku.”

“Do you know Sora?”

Riku wet his lips and then slowly nodded. “Yes, I have lunch with him, too.”

“Well, please come in.” 

Though concerned, Riku stepped into the apartment.

“My name is John. I’m the little slut’s step-father. I take it she’s been whoring herself out at school, during lunch it seems, as well and you’ve come for a piece of her ass,” the man snapped. “Well, that’s too bad because the little bitch has run away!”

Riku was taken aback, his mouth hanging open in shock. “What?!” he said incredulously. Kairi was such a sweet, beautiful, and timid girl. He couldn’t believe her own step-father would say something like that about her. “How could you say that? She’s not like that.” And there, suddenly, Riku was defending her. Why? He barely even knew her.

“Oh, I’m sorry. Did she tell you that she loved you or something before she spread her legs?” John snarled. “She’s a worthless whore. You’d do well to stay away from her. After all, she first and foremost belongs to me.” John slammed his fist down on the kitchen table, making a glass jump and spill across the surface. “Shit!”

Riku took a step back nervously. 

“First, she says that name: Sora,” John spat. “And now this, she’s been whoring without getting paid!”

Riku didn’t know what to do. If he defended Kairi, he might just stoke the fires of rage. If he went a long with it, he might wind up purchasing a piece of her body. “Do you… know where she is…?” he ventured because that seemed safe.

It wasn’t.

John whirled on him. “What? Trying to fly under the radar and get a piece of her cunt without paying, eh, boy?”

“No!” 

But John already had his hand around Riku’s throat and Riku discovered the playing football did not give him the muscles required to fight off a full grown man. John lifted him from the ground by his neck, snarling into his face, spittle flying.

“Stay away from my little cunt!” John shrieked and then he hurled Riku backwards against the door. 

White-hot pain reverberated up Riku’s spine and spots danced across his vision. The back of his head had hit the door pretty hard. He could feel blood dribbling down his neck. Shit, he was going to black out. Riku tried to escape, but his limbs felt leaden. John grabbed him again and dragged him down the hallway to the room he guessed to be Kairi’s. There, He tossed Riku onto the bed and securely bound his wrists to the headboard. 

“When she gets her worthless ass back here, you can fuck her!” John hissed. Then, he left, slamming the door so hard that the window rattled.

Riku scanned the room quickly. There was one window, but it was six stories up. No sheet-ladder would get him to the ground or even to a safe enough distance where he could jump. Something smelled rotten in the room as well and then he saw it, a little rotting puppy in a cardboard box next to the bed. Flowers had been laid on top of it. 

Sickened, Riku wretched and the sudden moment made his head spin again. For a moment, he fought for consciousness, but the pull was too strong. Darkness took him greedily.   
His last coherent thought was that his mother, the police chief, would surely find him.

X X X

The plot thickens! Kind of a filler chapter for the plot. People need to get rolling. Kairi and Sora are safe so I don’t have much to do with them and Riku is my let’s-kick-this-story-in-the-seat-of-its-pants character and he just did his job. Yay!

Questions, comments, concerns?


	17. Kairi's Return

Nothing to report.

X X X

Things might have continued on easily, going at their own pace. Kairi and Sora might have been safe for a while longer, but there was an unfortunate convergence of circumstances by the name of Riku. Every police officer was out in search of the chief’s son with their eyes peeled for the redhead, Kairi Hart. 

No one was missing Sora. 

The second unfortunate convergence was noontime mail delivery and the Dunkin Donuts right across the street from the library. From the window, enjoying their cream-filled pastries and coffee on an ugly lunch break, two policemen spotted Kairi fetching the mail for Namine.

“Hey, hey, Rick,” the first said, nudging the second. 

“I know I have powdered sugar in my mustache. Now stop pointing it out!” Rick snapped.

The first laughed and then continued, “I wasn’t going to say that. Doesn’t that look like that girl?” He pointed.

Rick squinted and then dropped his pastry. “I do believe you’re right!”

Then, they charged out the door. 

The mailbox had been walloped by some punk with a baseball bat and Kairi was having some trouble heaving it open. She was sure Roxas was having a laugh at her expense from the window and she adjusted the umbrella to keep the drizzle from frosting her hair into a frizzy mess. 

Then, a pudgy hand closed around her forearm and hot breath whispered into her ear, “Don’t worry. We’ll take you home. You’ll be safe again!”

She tried to scream for Sora, for Roxas, for anyone, but the hand prevented her from speaking. Tears welled up in her eyes and ran down her face. She tried to struggle but the officer was bigger than her. The umbrella slipped from her grip and her screams were muffled as she was dragged to the waiting cruiser. Tossed into the backseat, she could scream again, but the glass muffled her cries.

A moment later, when Roxas peeked out to see what was taking Kairi so long and if she really did need help, all he was the umbrella lying upside-down in the rain and the mailbox hanging open. 

Kairi was gone.

…

Just like that, Kairi was delivered back into the arms of her step-father and the unwitting policemen were only inches from Riku. John immediately hugged her, covering her face with his hand and forcing his fingers into her mouth to keep her from talking. 

“Yes, Officers, thank you so much for finding my little angel,” John was saying while Kairi struggled weakly against his hold. She wasn’t stupid enough to bite his fingers.

The policemen, embarrassed by another teary exchange with a parent whose child had been missing, scratched their faces and tried to politely hurry away. John wasted no time in allowing this while still appearing to be a heartfelt man who was delighted to have his daughter back. Finally, the officers boarded the elevator and were gone. 

Kairi was alone with John once again and he was far from happy.

John tossed her into the couch. The arm slammed across her belly, knocking the wind out of her, and she hacked into her hands for a moment as she slumped down against the couch. 

He stalked towards her. “Do you know what came snooping around today?”

Kairi tried to crawl away from him, dragging her limp legs behind her and digging her fingers into the cold tile. 

John grabbed her by her ankle and dragged her back. “No? You’re little boy toy. Apparently, you’ve been spreading your legs at school, too, you little slut. Whoring yourself to Sora and now to Riku!”

“Riku?” she gasped out. 

He slammed his foot down on her back and she cried out in agony. “Familiar. What did you take them both at once?”

Kairi whimpered, clutching her vulnerable stomach as he rolled her over with his foot. 

“And what is this? You come home in different clothes than you ran away in?”

They were Namine’s clothes, a white dress and a thick white sweater. She was also wearing Sora’s jacket from when she went outside to fetch the mail. The robe and lingerie were in the wastebasket in Namine and Roxas’s bathroom.

“Please, stop… I can explain…”

“And I had to give Bill his money back since he didn’t get to fuck you for his full time.” John gripped her by her hair, dragging her face close to his. “Are you happy now?”

Kairi sobbed and shivered. 

John dragged her to her feet and tossed her down the hallway towards her room. “Get in there, you filthy whore. Do what you do best,” he snarled.

And Kairi, terrified, bolted into her room. There she found Riku tied to her bed. She had to tap down a scream and instantly thought of him putting his foot down hard on Sora’s chest, of the blood coming from Sora’s mouth. She had seen far worse happen to Sora already and the memory was easily pushed aside.

Kairi stumbled to her feet, hugging herself, and whispered, “Riku?”

He was still and pale, but his chest was rising and falling steadily. He was unconscious, she realized, and gently rushed his hair from his face to she could feel his forehead. His skin was smooth and warm to the touch. He didn’t have a fever and he wasn’t cold. Already, he was doing better than Sora. 

Sora… 

When she went out to get the mail, he had been sleeping uneasily on the couch, burning with fever. Namine had given him some aspirin to reduce it, but Kairi didn’t know if it had worked.

She thought of Namine and Roxas. Had they noticed she was missing yet? Would they even be able to help her? She was sure Sora would try to save her, but he was so hurt… He should be in the hospital, not chasing after her through a rotten rainstorm. And now, she was back in John’s clutches.

Kairi slumped down next to her bed, put her face in her hands, and cried.

…

When Sora woke up, Namine was sitting silently at his side, holding his hand in hers. For a moment, he feared he had died and was watching the scene from above. Then, Luka slammed down at the foot of the couch, jostling him, and the pain reminded him that he was alive. 

“Ouch,” he said softly and Namine began rubbing his hand. He could here Roxas on the telephone in the kitchen. Immediately, he sensed that something was wrong. “What is it?”

Namine smiled sadly and her violet eyes welled with tears. Her eyes… were so like… Kairi’s eyes!

“Kairi?” Sora croaked. “Where’s Kairi?”

Luka turned up the television, as if to drown him out, but he heard chilling words.

“The search for the two missing teens, Kairi Hart and Riku Midler, is going down to half. Kairi Hart was just found and brought safely home by officers, Rick Pared and Jose Martinez. Thank god she’s alright. But the search for the police chief’s son, Riku, is far from over. It has been more the six hours with no sign of the boy. We pray that he is also alright,” the anchorwoman was saying and doing a wonderful job of looking sad and noble. “An AMBER Alert is still being issued for Riku. We hope for his safe return.”

“Kairi,” Sora whispered and lurched upright on the sofa. The pain the speared through him made his head spine. 

Namine pushed him back. “You must rest. There is very little you can do in this condition. Pray for her safety,” she said gently.

Sora heaved against her, but even the slender nurse was too strong. “I can’t just lay here. I’ve seen what he’s done to her!” He thought of Kairi’s notebook of horrible words. She had kissed him and touched him readily, trusted him to protect her. If she returned to the frightened Girl Bound by Secrets, he didn’t know if his heart could take it. He loved this new and vibrant Kairi.

Namine looked startled, but continued to hold Sora against the cushions. 

Roxas slammed the phone down and came charging into the living room. 

Namine looked up at him, eyes wide. 

“Nothing,” he said. “They can’t do anything until tomorrow.”

“Couldn’t we call the police?”

“Only if her life is in immediate danger and she was just taken back to him. They won’t respond fast enough,” Roxas began to pace back and forth in the living room in front of the television. “We need proof to get police in instantly.”

“Then…” Namine whispered.

“For now, there’s nothing we can do…” Roxas sat down heavily on the overstuffed armchair and put his face in his hands.

Namine bit her lower lip, puckering the pink flesh. Luka wrapped her arms around her legs and hid her face. Sora tried to sit up again and this time Namine allowed him, holding his shoulders gently to support him.

“I have an idea,” Sora choked out, “but I’m going to need your help.”

…

Kairi didn’t know how long she sat beside her bed crying, but when she opened her eyes again, night was looming beyond her bedroom window. The night looked bleak and ominous, but the moon was struggling to shine through the thick blanket of clouds. She went to the window and looked out. Below, glimmering with raindrops, was the deserted playground. She imagined herself with Sora, wrapped tightly in his arms. 

She realized that she was still wearing his jacket and Namine’s white clothing. Quickly, she stripped and pulled on her own clothing. She shimmied into fresh panties and was pulling her jeans up over her hips when she heard Riku’s voice.

“You really ought to check and make sure people are still sleeping before you go stripping down to your skivvies.”

With a gasp, Kairi clutched Sora’s jacket to her chest, hiding her naked breasts. “You! Close your eyes!”

Riku was momentarily shocked by the change from demure and frightened girl to this creature before him. He obediently did as asked, listening to the sounds of her slipping something over her head. Then, she sat down at the foot of the bed.

“Can I open my eyes?”

“Yes…”

Kairi had slipped a heavy knit sweater in deep black over her head and tied up her hair with a black ribbon. She was also wearing dark jeans and sneakers. 

“Are you planning something… foolish?”

She glared at him fiercely, but then lowered her eyes. “Does anyone know you’re here?”

Riku shook his head, a motion made difficult by his arms stretched and tied over his head. “But my mother will be searching for me by now,” he said. “She’s the police chief.”

A shiver went down Kairi’s spine. “Your mother is the police chief?”

“Yeah, and believe me, once we get out of here, I’ll help you get a case against this nut job!” Riku said. “You’ll never have to come home to this again.”

“No!” Her vehemence shocked him.

“What do you mean no?” Riku asked incredulously. “You want to stay here?”

Kairi lowered her eyes. “I have to.”

“You don’t have to. I’ve seen what this whacko is up to here and, once I tell my mother, you’ll be moved to a safer home, maybe with some relatives.” Riku insisted.

She shook her head. “No…”

Riku quirked his brow, staring at her hard. “Why not?” 

“Sora,” she said plainly. 

“Sora?” Riku asked dubiously.

She nodded.

“Why because of Sora?”

“He’s the first person to show me any kindness. Because of him, I think there’s some goodness in the world…”

Riku laughed bitterly. “There’s more goodness in the world than scrawny Sora.”

Kairi glared at him. “Sora,” she whispered shortly as if his name said it all. 

“Right, okay. I’m sorry,” Riku said and opened his bound hands like a peace offering. “You must really be in love with him to stay in a place like this.”

Kairi snapped her head up to look at Riku. “Love?” she whispered.

Riku wrinkled his brow. “Yeah… to stay through all this just to be with Sora, you have to love him.”

She gazed out the window at the dark abyss of night. “Love,” she whispered.

Riku stared at her back curiously. This afternoon was becoming increasingly strange. First, he trekked all over in search of Sora and Kairi only to find that they lived in the same apartment building, one floor apart. He had spoken to Sora’s mother only to find that she had no idea where her son was. Then, he talked to Kairi’s step-father only to find that the man thought he was there hoping to score a prostitute. Finally, he had been tied to Kairi’s bed. 

After all this was over, if they came out in one piece, Riku was going to need a mental health day.

X X X

Questions, comments, concerns? 


	18. Shattering Climax

Rivendell101, Krystal Lily Potter, and anyone else who points it out: Yes, I know my stuff about the police is waaaaay off, but if I put Kairi in the police station and there was a big investigation, there would be no climax for this story. It would just kind of… fizzle out. So, for the sake of the plot, I have made the police very flawed. Sorry for this, but it’s just going to have to be that way. 

Or… maybe this takes place on another planet and the police are just fatally stupid… Yeah, not so much.

Sorry for the confusion, everyone.

X X X

The rain had halted, but the sky was still dark with thick threatening clouds. There was a faint circle of light where the moon was struggling through the heavy blanket. It was the only silver lining in the storm and surely there was to be no other happiness this night… not even if everything went as planned…

“I don’t think you should be doing this, Sora. You’re still hurt,” Roxas protested, leaning over Namine’s slender shoulder as she wrapped and ace bandage around and around Sora’s wounded torso. He ran a hand through his blonde hair, letting out a deep nervous sigh. “I’m sure there’s something else we can do.”

“Nothing fast enough,” Namine said. She wasn’t entirely for this plan either but there seemed to be nothing else they could do to save Kairi. “But if you think of something, please, let us know.”

“Maybe I could go instead,” Roxas offered.

Sora winced as Namine tightened the ace bandage around his ribs. “We’ve been through that. You’re older than Kairi. The story won’t play out right. I have to go. I’m the only one who can,” he said. “Ow, Namine, not so tight.”

“Sorry…”

Luka was sitting beside her brother, holding his hand tightly in her own. “Sora, I have a bad feeling,” she whispered. 

Sora squeezed her hand and smiled at her encouragingly. “She’ll be okay,” he said.

“I was worried about you,” Luka snapped.

Sora grinned. “I know,” he said and wriggled his arm as Namine wound more gauze around the gash in his bicep. “I think that’ll be good.”

Namine wrapped her favorite white scarf around Sora’s neck. “Be careful,” she said and gently pushed the secret object into his hand. Then, she gently kissed his cheek and hugged him not too tightly. 

“I will, Namine,” he murmured and gently hugged her as well. Namine and Roxas had been more like parents to him in the past few hours than Luka’s drug-addict mother and his abusive father would ever have been. “Thank you…”

Then, Sora hugged his little sister like he was saying goodbye forever, holding her as tight as he could without hurting himself, and Luka clutched the back of his shirt in her frail fingers. He didn’t say anything to her even as tears welled in her eyes. Finally, he gently pushed her back and turned to where Roxas was also bidding a brief farewell to Namine. He kissed her gently and then stepped towards the door where Sora was struggling into his rain slicker though it would do little to guard against the chill.

Namine smiled at Sora one final time, like a mother bidding farewell to a child before he went off to war. Roxas helped struggling Sora into his coat and they both stepped out into the chilly night. 

…

Sora was glad it stopped raining. If it had even been drizzling, the night would have pressed down on his broken body like his father’s bitter hand, making everything seem even bleaker. Even to save Kairi, he might not have been able to go on. Shivering down deeper into his coat, he waved to Roxas, signaling that, yes, he was really going to do this and goodbye. Roxas looked like he wanted to say something, blue eyes dark with worry, but he shook his head and pulled off into the night, blood-red taillights shining on the damp pavement. Then, Sora ran a hand over his face, wincing as his fingers dug into a particularly painful bruise, and then walked as straight as he could while half-blind into the redbrick apartment building. 

He had the hood of his rain slicker pulled up over his trademark wild chestnut hair so the old man didn’t recognize him when he boarded the elevator and pressed the button for the sixth floor. Shivering nervously, he treaded the worn hallway to Kairi’s apartment, 6A, and knocked with his bruised knuckles, bandaged fingers tucking against his damp sweaty palm. Then, he braced himself for what he was about to do.

The money Roxas had given him and Namine’s tape recorder were burning through his clothes, eating through his pocket, heavy as lead, even heavier than his heart.  
Sora wet his lips, tearing at the deep split, as he waited for the door to open.

Then, finally, John opened the door. His big face was red and annoyed, but he hid it quickly at the sight of Sora’s small slender figure. “Hello,” he said nicely. “Can I help you?”

Sora quietly pressed RECORD. “Yes… I’m looking for Kairi. She said I could buy her time if I came here.”

John’s face broke into a smile, a terrifying Cheshire Cat grin. “Oh. Please, come in,” he said.

When the door closed behind Sora, it sounded like the clang of a prison cell. He hoped it was a premonition of what would happen to John and not to him. Once Kairi understood why he did what he did, surely she would protect him… wouldn’t she…?

…

Kairi crouched in front of her closet, legs against her chest and arms tight around them. She shivered, trying to ignore the smell of Cleo’s little moldering body in the box beside her elbow. She put her chin on her knees and stared at Riku where he was still tied to her bed. She knew she should untie him, but she didn’t trust him enough to be loose with her unprotected as she was. That and she knew John would be suspicious and angry. She wasn’t Sora… she couldn’t take those hits. 

She heard voices in the living room. John’s voice and… Dear God, Sora’s voice, she was almost certain. Why was he here? He should have stayed with Roxas and Namine where it was safe! Unless… he had come to save her. 

Then, she heard something heartbreaking in their conversation. 

“I have twenty dollars,” Sora was saying. “How long will that get me with her?”

John made a sound deep in his chest like he was thinking very hard. “I’ve been selling the slut at twenty-five for an hour and use of all holes. Considering you came here looking to buy her while she was giving herself away to some punk at school, for twenty bucks… One hour and you can fuck her pussy and her mouth as much as you want.”

Kairi heard bills rustling as they exchanged hands. 

This couldn’t be Sora. 

Her doorknob rattled.

“Hey, just a moment. Show me your face, boy.”

There was a moment of silence. 

“What happened to your face?”

“Umm, I was… She was going to have me at school, but after she had me in her hands, she changed her mind and kicked me in the face.” 

“My little bitch did that to you?”

“Mm-hmm.” 

“Maybe I should start doing sadism and masochism with her for a higher price. For that little idea, you can do anything you want to her for a full hour.”

“Most gracious of you.” 

“Go ahead. Grab the slut and bring her out to the living room. I feel like watching.”

She could only pray that it wasn’t really Sora, that his voice had been a trick of her ears. Shivering, Kairi hugged herself tightly, pressing her back against the closet door. She buried her face in her arms. It wasn’t him. It wasn’t him. It wasn’t him. It wasn’t him. It wasn’t him. It wasn’t him. It couldn’t be him!

The knob rattled and the door cracked open.

On the bed, Riku closed his eyes and lay very still as if asleep. 

Then, someone stepped into the room and closed the door quietly. Quick footsteps approached her and then there were warm hands on her shoulders, gripping her tightly and shaking her lightly. Then, Sora’s voice cut through her skin. “Kai,” he whispered against the shell of her ear, his breath was moist and warm. “I know what that sounded like but it’s the only way I could save you. I’ll explain when I can. Please… Kairi, I need you to go along with me.”

She opened her eyes, lifting her head, and stared right into Sora’s beautiful half-blind blood-occluded cerulean eyes. “Why…? Why are you doing this to me…?”

“I’m trying to save you.”

Her eyes welled with tears and she tried to push him back. “Stop,” she said desperately. 

“What are you doing in there?” John’s voice came loud and horrible through the walls. “I told you that I wanted to watch.”

“Just a moment,” Sora called to him and then turned back to Kairi, holding her tightly against his chest. “I’m so sorry, but this is all I could think of…”

“You’re going to… rape me, too?” Kairi whimpered. 

Sora hugged her tightly, but didn’t answer. She shivered in his arms, trembling violently. The tape was recording this. This very conversation could condemn him. He could only pray that Kairi would understand and protect him from this when the time came. 

On the bed, Riku had turned his head to stare at them. His green eyes were wide and shocked. 

Then, Sora gripped Kairi’s hands and pulled her to her feet. She stumbled away from him, trying to flee for the last time. He pulled her against him, cradling her back against his chest and apologized again. Tears coursed down her cheeks and she pushed against him. He apologized again and pulled her fiercely from the room. 

In that instant, the Sora she knew was gone.

…

Sora pushed Kairi from her bedroom, closing the door tightly behind them. Screaming, Kairi fought him, shoving at his face and chest while his arms held her irrevocably against his body. Sora hated to do this to her, especially while she didn’t understand why he was doing it.

“Shut her up,” John snapped. He was sitting on the couch, feet up on the coffee table and crossed at the ankles. 

The television was dark and dead, but there was pornography spread out on the table. The front of John’s pants was tented with arousal and Sora suddenly wondered how he was going to pull this off. He couldn’t rape Kairi, the length of him was soft and sickened. His stomach was full of ice. He’d just have to think of something as he went along. 

Kairi was still screaming and Sora put his hand over her mouth, trying to meet her eyes, catch them and assure her that everything was going to be alright, but she was looking around. Violet eyes rolling wildly, desperately, veins popping, whites going bloodshot. Her eyes looked like his. That was the last attempt Sora made to soothe her. If she wasn’t going to listen to him, there was nothing he could do to help her. If he blew his cover being unspeakably gentle, it was all over. 

No one would miss Sora if he was murdered here by John.

Sora pushed her over the arm of the couch, pressing against her back and putting his lips to the back of her neck. She struggled, whipping her stinging blood-red hair in his face. Suddenly, John backhanded her with such a horrible sound that Sora felt the strike reverberate through his own body. The many wounds on him screamed. 

“Knock it off, you little bitch. He’s paying good money for you,” John growled. 

Kairi slumped, limp and trembling, no longer fighting Sora’s hold. 

“Go ahead,” John said and grinned sickeningly at Sora. “Touch her.”

Sora knew his masquerade was wavering on a dangerous knife’s edge. He wet his lips, trying to act as if the thought of ravaging Kairi like this appealed to him, and cupped her full breasts through her shirt. She whimpered, arching her back as if in pain and he tried to fondle her even more gently without appearing to do so. John suddenly unzipped his trousers and unleashed his cock. It seemed almost dangerously big and the thought of that tearing into Kairi’s beautiful body made Sora sick. He had to look away.

“What is it, boy?” John asked and there was something in his voice that threatened.

“You’re just… a lot bigger than me…”

John snorted. “You might grow.”

Sora repressed a shudder. John reached for Kairi, threading his fingers through her hair and pulling her fiercely towards his cock. She struggled weakly, wriggling against Sora since he was holding her against the arm of the couch with his sharp hips. He took a step back but that only allowed John to heave her closer and put her ass neatly in the air for Sora. 

“Is this your first time, boy? Pull down her jeans,” John said as he bumped Kairi’s lips against his cock. He reached between Sora’s fingers and fiercely pinched her nipple. When she gasped in pain, he shoved himself into her open mouth, grunting like a hog. “Just pretend I’m not here.”

Sora reached around her waist, beneath her hips where they were pressed into the sofa, and unbuttoned her jeans. Then, he hooked his fingers in the waistband, finding her light cotton panties, and pulled them down to her ankles. John pounded the back of her throat and she was making small terrified sounds and Sora gently put his hands on the swell of her pale ass. Trying to be gentle but not give himself away, he feathered his lips down her spine and slipped his fingers between her parted legs. 

She tensed as he brushed between her dry folds. Sora knew she should be wet and that if he tried to do anything to her as she was now, it would hurt more than ever. He knelt behind her, wincing at the pull in his slashed thighs, and spread her with his thumbs. She wriggled her hips, whimpering though the sounds were muted by John’s cock. Sora closed his eyes, shamed by his actions, but unable to do anything to avoid them. He drew a long slow lick over the sensitive pearl at her core. 

John groaned as whatever the boy was doing startled Kairi and she lurched, taking him deeper down her throat. Even though she was gagging, he didn’t allow her to pull back and continued forcing her to bob her head. 

Sora licked her pearl again, even nipping it a little between his teeth, and she squirmed. She was growing moist and soft for him, pushing back against him though he couldn’t be entirely sure it was in pleasure. He slipped a finger into her, stroking the tightening walls inside her, and she made a sound deep in her chest. 

John groaned. “Boy, what are you doing to her?”

Sora swallowed and didn’t answer though John didn’t seem to expect one because he didn’t ask again. He added another finger and made a small scissoring motion. She pushed against him, driving him deeper, and Sora felt the first awakening in his groin. He began pumping in and out of her moist heat, getting a little firmer with each gentle trust. Kairi was beginning to meet him, pushing her hips back to drive him deeper. 

John could feel her gasping around his cock, making small cute moans as this boy touched her. What was he to be able to make Kairi respond to him this way?

“It’s been half an hour already,” John said. “I’ve cum three times. Boy?”

Kairi was soaking wet, juices rolling in beads down her thighs while Sora gently thrust his fingers into her snatch, pushing in deep enough to stroke the mouth of her womb. Occasionally, his mouth wrapped around her clit, sending spikes of hot pleasure through her body. This was the same Sora she loved and trusted. He was doing these things for a reason and making up for it like this. Even John’s hot salty semen down the back of her throat and dripping from the corners of her mouth, burning the split there, couldn’t put a damper on her pleasure. She was beginning to want something inside her, something full and big. 

She wanted Sora.

It was like the time John had been inside her and she was thinking of Sora. She was wet and wanting, writhing against him with small moans. For Sora, only for Sora… No one else could make her feel this way, feel like she was burning form the inside.

She lurched away from John, tearing loose of him so violently that he was startled. “Please,” she whispered before John had pulled her back to his dick and smothered her cries.  
Sora’s shaft grew to fullness at that small innocent plea. She wanted him. She was ready. He parted her slick lips and buried himself to the hilt inside her tight heat. Immediately, the warmth of her body overwhelmed him and pulled him to the razor’s edge of pleasure. Sora was a virgin. He had never felt this before and then her muscles clamped down on him, gripping him so tightly. She pushed back against him, taking him even deeper than he thought possible, milking the length of his shaft. 

Sora began to move, pushing into her deep and fast. He thrust into her only a few more times before the coil winding in his stomach burst and he felt himself emptying into her. She hadn’t yet joined him and he reached around her waist to touch that pearl again. Almost immediately, her muscles seized around him to the point of pain and then there was a rush of hot juices around his shaft. He didn’t want o move. He just wanted to remain inside her forever, but John began clapping.

“You’re the first man to ever make her climax. I think that deserves a drink, my boy.”

Reminded of his role here, Sora pulled out of her quickly and Kairi spilled to the floor in the heap of long white limbs. She looked up at him with desperate confusion and he implored her with his eyes not to give him away. Whatever you do, don’t say my name. She drew her legs to her chest, hiding her moist slit with her crossed ankles and then wiping John’s cum from her mouth. 

“Well, boy, drink?”

Sora was tucking his softening shaft back into his boxers. “Sorry. I have to be going. My… girlfriend will be wondering what’s keeping me.”

“Visiting my slut before going to your girlfriend’s,” John barked a deep throaty laugh. “Have fun, boy. Fuck her extra hard for me.”

Sora walked quickly towards the door though he hated to leave Kairi there with John. He had all the evidence Roxas said they needed. Hurrying downstairs, Sora pulled back his hood and went to the old man at the counter. “Can I use the phone?”

“Hello, Sora,” the old man said. “Terrible thing that Riku being missing, isn’t it?”

“Yes, of course,” Sora said quickly. “The phone?”

“In a mighty hurry, are we? Here you are…”

Sora dialed Roxas’s number with shaking hands and he picked up on the very first ring. 

“Sora?”

“I have it! Call the police.”

“They’re still searching for Riku,” Namine said in the background. 

“Riku tied to Kairi’s bed. Hurry, before something worse happens! Hurry, hurry!” Sora said.

“Hurry what, son?” Earl’s voice went down Sora’s spine like a knife and he froze, the phone clattered from his hand.

“Sora?” Roxas’s voice called. “Sora? What was that?”

“Hello Earl,” the old man said. “Sora’s in a mighty hurry, may want to put away the coffee when you two get home.”

“Indeed I will,” Earl said. Then, he gripped Sora’s upper arm, digging his big fingers into the wound on his bicep. “Hang up the phone for us, would you? Sora and I will go upstairs and I will do rather well to put away anything caffeinated.” 

The old man smiled and returned to his crossword.

The last thing Sora heard Roxas say was, “Stay where you are. I’m on my way.” Then, the elevator doors scraped shut.

X X X

Questions, comments, concerns? 


	19. All the Little Pieces

We’ll be doing a lot of perspective jumping in this chapter. Try to keep up with me, okay, everyone?

X X X

Earl’s grip around Sora’s arm was unbearably tight on the deep wound there. A knot of pure agony welled up in Sora’ throat, choking him. Half his pain was for himself, for the wounds on his body, the other half was for Kairi. He had just put her through all that and, now, his father was going to kill him so it would be worth nothing. Sora had no doubt that Roxas and Namine would find another way to save Kairi, but another beating would surely take Sora’s life. 

Earl pushed Sora into the elevator, smiling at the old man as the doors peeled shut, and the side of Sora’s head slammed into the elevator wall. Stars danced in his vision, threatening to take him into completely blackness. Water rushed from his eyes and he hacked into his hands. There was blood on his palms.

God, was he already dying…?

He would have to think of some way to leave the tape for Namine and Roxas. Maybe he could press the button for Kairi’s floor and toss it when the doors opened, but he couldn’t be sure they would see it lying in the hallway and his father would see him throw it. Earl might smash the tape. Maybe he could leave it on the elevator, Roxas had said he was on his way and he’d surely recognize the tape recorder. If he came quickly, and Roxas was sure to be driving like a maniac right now, he would find the tape before anyone else. 

Sora coughed deeply again, pain slamming through his ribcage. His mouth tasted coppery and the back of his throat burned. 

“Stop your pathetic coughing. Where have you been, you bastard?” Earl grabbed Sora by the back of his neck, tossing him against the wall again. 

Sora’s teeth plunged through is lip as his face hit the cold wall. “Just… with friends…” he choked out. 

Earl kicked him, the force was staggering. Sora didn’t know if he could get up. “You don’t have any friends. You’re a worthless piece of shit,” he snarled. “Shit is not allotted any friends.”

The doors peeled open on the seventh floor and Earl got off. Sora took a moment to place the tape recorder on the floor where he was sure Roxas or Namine would see it and then was forced to follow his father. He couldn’t run away. All the commotion of police rescuing Kairi would put Earl into a rage if he saw them. He hated police and would only beat Sora harder in rage if he so much as glimpsed an officer. 

As much as he hated to admit it, even to himself, Sora wanted to live so he could see Kairi again.

Sora dragged himself into the apartment behind Earl, clutching his ribs in his hands, and then the larger man whirled on him. He had something sharp and dangerous in his big hand. Sora never saw it coming with his half-blind eyes.

…

Roxas screamed into the parking lot, rear tires fishtailing on the wet pavement. Namine was clutching the dashboard in white knuckles, terrified of his driving but more afraid for Sora and Kairi to ask him to slow down. Roxas slammed the car into park, jerked the keys from the ignition, and was sprinting towards the redbrick apartment building. Namine raced after him, her breathing ragged and frightened. 

Sora had told them he lived in 7A and Kairi lived just below him in 6A. He also had said that the police chief’s missing son, Riku, was tied to Kairi’s bed. 

Roxas and Namine skidded on wet sneakers across the lobby linoleum. An old man was sitting behind the counter, working on a crossword, and he didn’t even look up when they tore inside. Namine went immediately to the counter while Roxas dashed to the elevator.

“Sora Strife,” Namine panted. “Have you seen him?”

The old man looked up, took in the sight of her beauty, smiled, and said, “Oh, yes. He was just using my phone. His father came in and they went up to their apartment. Sora’s had a little too much caffeine. He’s very high strung.”

“Namine!” Roxas shouted. “The tape recorder!” He was looking in the empty elevator, holding up the recorder she had given Sora for incriminating evidence, namely the conversation with John as Sora bought Kairi like a prostitute. She hadn’t liked the plan, but it was all they had at the time. Now, she was wishing she had sided with Roxas and thought of something else. 

Namine bolted to his side, feet skidding on the damp linoleum. She had to grab the open elevator doors to keep from falling. “His father came and took him upstairs,” she panted desperately. “But the police will be here soon. Someone has to stay here and wait for them.”

Roxas was already shoving the tape recorder into her hands and pressing the button for the seventh floor though Namine’s hand prevented the doors from closing immediately. “Namine?”

She leaned forward and put her lips to his. “Sora is yours. Save him,” and that was all she said. The elevator doors scraped shut and Namine’s strained smile glowed at Roxas through the crack. Then, he was climbing the floors to Sora’s apartment.

…

The corkscrew going through the flesh above Sora’s hip was more painful than all his wounds combined. It went in like a knife, sharp and cold, plowing through his protesting muscles. Then, tripling the pain of the stab, it began to twist, spinning deep into his body. The screw tore him apart, ripped his flesh to shreds, spun out tattered skin, and coursed blood. The scream Sora unleashed was heartbreakingly loud, tearing through the entire apartment building, shaking the foundation. 

On the floor below, Kairi looked up at the ceiling, shuddering as John dove between her parted legs to spear her. 

Riding the elevator, Roxas suddenly wished he had taken the stairs so he could have been there faster. 

In the lobby, Namine clutched the tape recorder to her chest, looking up. The old man also glanced up, unsure of what he was hearing.

Earl only grinned wickedly even as Sora’s left hand went to clutch at the corkscrew, trying to stop its progress, while his right pushed weakly against Earl’s chest. His son was weak, trembling in agony, and spilling blood, just as his wife had been when she died giving life to this monstrosity. Sora looked up with her eyes in his face, her beautiful cerulean blue eyes, and Earl saw the endless anguish reflecting there over and over again.

“Dad,” Sora choked out. “Please… stop… Stop hurting me, please…”

Earl cackled and reached for something else he had laying out on the kitchen counter. “You should have thought of that before you lived, you piece of shit,” he snarled.

Sora’s eyes, her eyes, welled with tears that were tinged pink with the blood from his wounded half-blinded eyes. “Please, Dad, stop…” The rest of his words were choked off in agony as Earl gave the corkscrew a vicious twist. 

Blood splattered the floor, spreading in a crimson puddle, just like that hospital delivery room had been.

…

After what felt like forever, the elevator doors peeled open on the seventh floor. Roxas exploded from the elevator and barreled down the hallway at full tilt. He almost raced past 7A in his blind haste, but Sora let out another anguished howl, quieter now so that only Kairi heard it on the floor below. He slammed into the door by way of knocking and tried the knob. 

It was locked.

…

The brutal knock was loud and Earl paused in the torture of his son to look and see that the lock was still thrown. It was. Then, without further ado, he took the sharp point of the bottle opener and dug it behind Sora’s long collarbone. Both of Sora’s hands had gone to clutching at that corkscrew, trying to stop Earl from so much as moving it. It must have hurt a good bit and he found himself wishing that he had a few more to screw into his son’s body. 

Sora’s breath was ragged and quick. Blood was dripping from his lips where he had put his teeth through that wound again. He felt lightheaded, but the white-hot pain was anchoring him to this world. 

He couldn’t die like this… 

That would be far too easy…

…

Roxas had watched a lot of late night action movies, albeit bad ones, but action movies none the less. He would have much preferred to blast in, guns blazing, but there was this obstacle between him and Sora—a locked door. He backed up, putting his ass against the opposite wall to face the opposing door. 

“Alright, come on. Bruce Willis would put his foot against the door and kick it open,” Roxas encouraged himself. 

Roxas sucked in a deep breath and steeled every ounce of courage, righteousness, and strength he possessed in his body. He gave the door a good savage kick and it bounced on its hinges, but didn’t blow open like it would have if Bruce Willis would have kicked it. Not only did the door not give way, remaining firmly on its hinges, but Roxas bounced off it like it was made out of rubber and practically fell on his ass.

“Okay,” he admitted, panting with his hands braced on his knees. “So, Bruce probably goes to the gym.” 

Hell, who was Roxas to barge in and save the day? He was an overworked diner waiter with a few good deeds under his belt. He should be downstairs with Namine, waiting patiently to tell the cops exactly who needed saving and staying out of the way.

Inside, Sora screamed again, but weaker. It was as if he was dying.

Grinding his teeth, Roxas backed up again and summoned every last drop in the reservoir of strength he had in him. He gave the door another kick, right beside the knob, and this time it sprang open with a ferocious bang. He guessed everyone had a little Bruce Willis in them.

“Stop!”

…

In the lobby, Namine watched the four police cruisers scream in, fishtailing as Roxas had done, and then all the dark-uniformed officers piled out of the black-and-whites. There were six officers and another woman in a nice black business suit. She must have been the chief, Riku’s mother.

Namine rushed to meet them, clutching the tape recorder to her chest. 

The old man looked up from his crossword puzzle and she heard him mutter, “What a strange afternoon.”

Riku’s mother walked in first, low-heeled boots tapping on the linoleum. She glanced around the lobby and walked right up to Namine, meeting her halfway since Namine was already headed towards her. “You’re Namine White?” she asked first. “I am Chief Rebecca Midler.”

“Yes,” Namine said and held out the tape recorder in her palms. “Proof of my story,” she offered.

The chief waved her off. “I believe you. Now, where is my son?”

Namine quickly told her as much as Sora had told Roxas, giving the quick gist of the situation. Rebecca listened rather impatiently, knowing that she would need to know all this as the chief, but reasonably impatient to find her son. When Namine finished, Rebecca went to the old man and demanded the keys to Apartment 6A. Then, they all packed into the elevator, insisting Namine stay back.

Namine hadn’t gotten a chance to say anything about Sora and Roxas. She hoped they were alright.

…

“Stop!” Roxas shouted.

For one instant, Sora looked up into Roxas’s face and he glimpsed a small hopeful smile on Sora’s beaten mouth before Earl backhanded him cruelly. Sora hung limp from his father’s grip around his damaged bicep. Blood was running down Sora’s arm, dripping off his bandaged fingertips, and Roxas thought of the horrible gash in Sora’s arm that Namine had wrapped. God, was this rotten man touching that wound, digging into it with is fingers? 

“What are you doing?! Give him to me!” Roxas shouted. Surely, there was a better way to handle this situation, but he couldn’t think of it now.

Earl raised a brow. “Give my son to the unknown assailant that just broke into our apartment and did this to him?” He grinned horribly, showing crooked yellow teeth. “I think not.”

Roxas could smell the alcohol on him from where he was standing in the doorway. 

Sora’s eyes cracked open, scanning the puddle of his blood that coated the floor. He had heard what his father had said, trying to blame Roxas for this pain, for the corkscrew in his side and the bottle opener beneath his collarbone. “No…” he croaked, but the words were caught in his mouth.

“I’ll have to protect my son from you,” Earl said and gripped Sora’s head in both his hands, allowing the young man’s body to fall to his knees. Sora trembled like a small animal—trapped, cornered, caged, about to be skinned and eaten alive. “But maybe I wasn’t able to before you broke his neck…”

Roxas’s eyes widened and Earl noticed they were the same blue as Sora’s. In one smooth motion, he hurled his son’s face into the floor with a sickening crack and lunged for Roxas. Unprepared, Roxas was captured in a headlock, wrapping his fingers around Earl’s thick forearm to prevent himself from being strangled. 

Earl put his foot against Sora’s throat and rolled him over. The bottle opener had been pushed deeper into his shoulder, so Earl decided to leave it in. He kicked Sora in the face as he reached for the knife on the counter. Sora made a sound of agony, lifted his hands to clutch his face, and curled in on himself like something broken beyond hope of repair.

“I hate blue eyes,” Earl snarled and put the tip of the knife at Roxas’s cheek. He traced a cold path to the corner of his eye and dug in. “Should I pop this one right out?”

Terror welled, white-hot and dizzying, in Roxas’s head. He was unable to breathe suddenly. 

“Stop,” he whispered and struggled against Earl’s chokehold. 

…

“Let me go with you,” Namine insisted and shoved the tape recorder deep into the pocket of her jacket. 

“You’re a civilian. Stay here where it’s safe,” Rebecca snapped. She was eager to get to her son.

Namine was persistent. “Please, I’m a nurse and I know how to stay out of the way.”

“You have personal stock in this girl?” Rebecca asked curtly.

Namine nodded and bit her lip. “She’s a friend.”

Rebecca opened her mouth, ready now more than ever to make Namine remain behind in the elevator, but the look in this woman’s violet eyes said that even ordered, she would find a way to follow. With no other choice, Rebecca nodded. 

“Alright, let’s go.”

And Namine smiled. 

On the sixth floor, the police had assembled outside the door to 6A. Rebecca lifted her hand and knocked solidly.

…

Roxas struggled against Earl as best he could, desperately sucking in air. One wrong move and he was going to be blind in one eye, maybe both if he really fucked up. He suddenly decided that he was no Bruce Willis and that if he made it out of this alive he was going to start going to the gym.

“Just dig right under this nice thin flesh and pop it right out, but I’ll leave you the other so you can watch me kill this piece of shit child. The shock should prevent you from stopping me,” Earl said. “I wish I had another corkscrew…”

Then, Sora grabbed his ankle, weakly pulling on him.

Earl looked down, glared sourly at Sora in the same way most people would look at a cockroach crawling on the clean kitchen floor, and crushed his son’s fingers beneath the heel of his shoe like snapping twigs. Sora made no sound, not a peep. Then, as Roxas watched fearfully with the blue eye that was not being imminently threatened, Sora ripped the bottle opener from his shoulder and plunged it into the back of his father’s leg. 

…

There was a knock on the door.

Inside, John had been rutting with Kairi. He had her laid out on the floor, flat on her chest and pushing her face into the carpet while he pounded into her from on top and behind. “Who could that be? More custom for you?” He laughed.

Kairi shivered and couldn’t help but hope that maybe Sora had gotten some help. She tried to draw a breath into her crushed lungs as John sat up. He dragged her with him, keeping her impaled on his dick from behind in his lap. Since Sora left, he had been trying every position and trick in the book to make her climax as Sora had, but… It wasn’t working.

The knock came again. 

“I guess they won’t leave,” John muttered. He shoved Kairi from him where she remained limp and trembling with her thighs covered in his sticky cum on the floor. John pulled on his pants and tossed a blanket over Kairi’s nudity. Then, he opened the door to his undoing.

Rebecca leveled her gun at his face. “John Locke?”

“Y-yes?”

She peered around him, spotting Kairi’s fall of blood-red hair spread across the carpet and the tent in John’s pants. “You are under arrest for child prostitution, sexual assault, and child abuse,” Rebecca hissed and waved one of her deputies to cuff him and read him his rights though scum like him shouldn’t have had any rights at all. “Search the apartment.”  
Unspoken: find my son.

… 

Howling in rage and pain, Earl released Roxas, shoving him into the kitchen table. Winded and shocked, Roxas whirled around only in time to see Earl Strife raise the knife and plunge it into Sora’s unprotected back over and over again. 

Sora screamed, shaking the foundation of the building.

…

Kairi’s naked body was wrapped in a robe one of the policewomen had brought from her bedroom for her. It was thick terrycloth in deep blue and Kairi’s shivering soon stopped. Then, Rebecca allowed Namine to come and cradle the young girl since they were gazing at each other desperately from across the room.

Then, she continued waiting for the return of her son.

Riku had, sure enough, been tied to Kairi’s bed. He was untied quickly and soon trapped in his mother’s crushing embrace. He wanted to go to Kairi, to see if she was alright because John had been grunting some disgusting things, but she was already in the protective embrace of a violet-eyed woman dressed in white. The woman looked like an angel and Kairi appeared to think so too because there was a serene and trusting expression on her pretty face.

“Are you okay?” Rebecca asked and kissed him. He had never been so grateful that his mother was kind and normal. 

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Riku said and hugged her tightly. “What happen—?”

Then, a shattering scream shook the building.

“What was that?”

Kairi and Namine looked up, each saying at the same time. 

“Roxas.”

“Sora.”

…

“No!” Roxas threw himself at Earl, tackling him to the ground. 

Earl’s head slammed into the cabinets and he went still, groaning. Then, like a typical alcoholic, he vomited a spectacular arc of puke and passed out. Roxas didn’t wish for a more powerful knock-down-drag-out Bruce-Willis-style fight. He was rather content with this.

Vomit and blood mingled on the Strife kitchen floor. 

Roxas went quickly to Sora, dragged him from the spreading puddle, and cradled the young man in his arms. 

Sora’s eyes fluttered weakly, beautiful cerulean orbs in pools of bloodshot white. His eyes were glazed over, more like glass marbles than eyes. “Roxas…” he whispered and put his cold hand over Roxas’s arm. “Thank you… for coming…”

“Don’t sleep,” Roxas said and struggled to find a good place to put his hands on Sora’s battered body that wouldn’t cause him even more pain. “There’s police and Namine right downstairs. We’re going to get you some help, okay?”

Sora nodded and he weakly pushed against Roxas’s chest. He got first to his knees and then to his feet. He staggered a few steps, gripping the corkscrew with one hand and panting. Then, he walked from his apartment, leaving Roxas shocked behind him.

…

Before anyone could stop them, Namine and Kairi were on their feet. Rebecca shouted for three of her officers to follow them and see what that scream was. She, Riku, and the other three officers stayed to loom threateningly over John. John was blubbering and feeling rather sorry for himself, the true spirit of a child abuser. 

Namine, Kairi, and the officers raced to the elevator and Kairi eagerly pressed the button for the seventh floor. It felt like it took forever for the elevator to reach it. Then, the doors peeled open too slowly. Finally, they raced to 7A where the door had been kicked off its hinges. 

Sora was halfway down the hallway, leaning hard on the wall and leaving a trail of blood behind him. Roxas was behind him, jogging to reach the young man’s side.

Roxas’s eyes met Namine’s while Kairi’s welled with crystal tears.

Sora was nothing but blood, but he managed to smile for her.

Namine went quickly into Roxas’s arms, clutching him tightly while Sora staggered into Kairi’s. She reached out for him, holding him against her chest. She could feel his pounding heartbeat through his chest, slamming against his bones as if trying to escape. She felt the hard knob of the corkscrew press into her stomach and shivered. Sora cupped a hand over it, hugging her weakly against his chest.

“You saved me,” she whispered and put her lips against the blood on his throat in a hesitant kiss because he seemed so hurt.

“It was… nothing…” he whispered back and then, he collapsed in her arms.

They both slammed to the ground, corkscrew crunching sickeningly in Sora’s flesh. Kairi took the brunt of the fall, her head slamming against the thin carpet. For a moment, she saw many faces looking down at them and then someone was taking Sora from her. She wanted to protest but she was suddenly so very tired.

X X X

I wanted to get this up quick since the other half is getting lots of “Oh my God!” reviews. I figured I’d distract you all. Haha!

Questions, comments, concerns?


	20. White Hospital

OMG! OMG! OMG! OMG! OMG! OMG! OMG! OMG! OMG! OMG! OMG! OMG! Getting lots and lots of these reviews. I’m glad everyone is being blown away.

Kaiyt: I’m so awed by your wonderful explanation of my writing. “Your writing is like getting hit in the face with a brick made of solid emotion and grip, which is about twice as tear jerking as a regular brick.” Wow! Thank you so much!

X X X

It was approaching five a.m. and there was a fierce storm howling outside. Namine was tired. There were dark circles under her violet eyes. Beside her, Roxas gripped her hand tightly as they waited in the hospital waiting room, putting his arm around her narrow shoulders. 

Roxas had arrived only a few moments ago, windblown and damp. He had been held in the station and questioned somewhat fiercely. Once the police decided that he was telling the truth and had been acting rashly because Sora’s life was in danger, they released him. 

Namine had been in the hospital much longer since she had been with Rebecca Midler when they seized Kairi. Rebecca had taken the tape from Namine, asked a few blanket questions, and then dismissed her. Since she was someone the teens clearly trusted, she could act as a guardian until relatives were located.

Luka was sitting on Namine’s other side, holding a cup of hot chocolate and now wrapped securely in Roxas’s jacket yet she had yet to stop shivering. Once again, Namine tried to encourage her to get some rest, but she could understand the little girl’s reluctance. 

Kairi was getting an SAE kit done. 

Sora was in intensive care.

…

Kairi was terrified, trapped in this strange seat with her feet up in those stirrups, exposing her vulnerable core. It wound be so easy for someone to take her right now and, in such a strange position, she could do little to fight them off. Shivering, she clutched the thin hospital garb against her breasts. Once again, the kind young nurse advised her to relax, talking to her about everything she was doing as she did it. Kairi tensed as the small chilly speculum slid inside her and tickled around swabbing for semen. 

“Alright, you’re all finished now,” the nurse said. “That wasn’t too bad, right?” She handed Kairi her robe with a small tight smile.

Kairi snatched it eagerly to clutch against her chest, trying to control her shaking. Finished with that terrible exam, the nurse led her out into the waiting room where Namine, Roxas, and Luka were waiting. Namine stood up and went to wrap Kairi in her arms immediately. Roxas lingered behind, his blue eyes so much like Sora’s eyes all wide and shining. Luka was stone-still, staring tragically at the floor with her thin white hands wrapped around that cup. Kairi hugged Namine tightly, sobbing. 

“It’s alright,” Namine murmured and rubbed Kairi’s back. 

Kairi shook her head. “Sora…?” she whispered.

Namine shook her head, shooed Roxas so Kairi could sit beside her, and guided her to sit. Then, she wrapped her arms around both Kairi and Luka’s narrow frail shoulders. Roxas thought she looked like an avenging angel, chin high and eyes flashing and all dressed in white with her arms spread like wings over the two girls. It only occurred to Roxas then that this was Namine fixing her past. He went and knelt at her feet, putting his head in her lap. 

For a long while, they all stayed like that.

…

Almost two hours later, while Roxas was fetching some coffee for himself and Namine, Sora was released from intensive care. He returned to see a doctor speaking quietly to Namine, whispering so as not to wake the two girls that had nodded off against Namine’s narrow shoulders. Namine caught his eyes, smiled, and nodded. He almost spilled the coffee in his haste to reach them. 

Namine lifted Luka, cradling the little girl in her arms. She insisted that they should be let sleep as long as possible. 

But when Roxas tried to lift Kairi, she woke with a start. “What’s going on?” she asked, putting her hands against Roxas’s chest to hold him at bay. 

“Sora’s out of ICU. We were just moving everyone into his room to be close to him,” Roxas explained.

Kairi perked up. “Is he awake?”

Roxas rolled his shoulders. “I don’t know. Namine’s the one who talked to the doctor.”

Namine turned back to look at them over her shoulder impatiently. “Hurry up,” was all she said and walked away with her golden blonde hair swishing and Luka’s platinum fall hanging over her arm. 

They hurried after her. 

…

Sora had always been frail and beautiful, like a once-in-a-lifetime white flower blooming for three hours in the dead of night before dying and not blossoming again for another thousand years. His pale flesh was all spotted with pearly scars and darkened with bruises. He looked like a chiaroscuro painting in black and white with the glowing beautiful shading of an orchid. His chestnut hair was spread across the white pillows like rivulets of fine chocolates melted by the heat of his skin. His beautiful cerulean eyes were closed, hidden by thin creamy lids scattered with a network of spider web veins in deep silvery-blue and no longer swollen shut. There was still some blood on his petal-pink soft lips and that deep gash cleaned neatly with a few small stitches. 

His fine chiseled shoulders were dotted with light freckles and stained with black creeping bruises. A few stitches marked the place where the bottle opener had been wedged beneath his collarbone. The covers were pulled up beneath his arms, hiding the remaining injuries beneath the thick white cloth though the blankets clung to the curves and contours of his slender frame, lying against the concave bend of his stomach and the length of his long legs. His arms lay on top of the blankets, mottled with wires and needles. The heart monitor was beeping slow and weak. He appeared to be deep asleep, maybe tranquilized to keep him from moving or else still unconscious. He had lost a lot of blood and fresh life was running into his veins as they watched. 

Namine set Luka down in the comfortable chair near his bed on the window side and the little girl continued sleeping peacefully, as unaware of her brother as he was of her.  
Roxas fetched another chair for Kairi but she appeared unwilling to sit even when Namine prompted her. She was kneeling at the side of the bed, holding one of Sora’s hands in both of her own and occasionally pressing her lips to the soft warm skin. 

“You saved my life,” she whispered and her eyes welled with tears. “Everything’s going to change now… We’re going to be safe…”

In his sleep, Sora shifted. He tightened his fingers around Kairi’s and it was easy to imagine that he nodded. Then, he was still again, breathing deep and even while his heart began to beat stronger on the monitor. 

Beside him, Kairi laid her head on the bed, gazing up at him with adoration and gratitude. Finally, her eyes slid closed and her shoulders slumped with exhaustion. 

Roxas lifted her gently into the chair he had brought for her and Namine slipped pillow beneath the young girl’s head where it still lay beside the bone of Sora’s damaged hip. Kairi made a small sound as they moved her, but did not wake.

“Come on,” Roxas said to Namine since she was staring at the children with a strange expression in her violet eyes. “Let’s get something from the cafeteria, okay?”

Namine nodded and then rubbed her face with her long-fingered hands. “I could use a cup of coffee,” she confessed.

Roxas put his arm around her shoulders. “Let’s get you something stronger. Come on, the kids will be fine.”

She nodded and allowed him to lead her away. 

The first part, the easy part, was over. The ugly past could be put behind them. The bright future lay ahead like a shining star, but such a star was always obscured with wisps of darkness. Now, only the hard part remained…

X X X

I couldn’t decide whether I wanted the next part in this chapter or not. As you can see, I decided not to put it in, so the next chapter may be grievously frighteningly short. Just a forewarning! 

That and I think there will be about two chapters left for this story which means we will be ending on a rather strange number of chapters and I hate that. Grr!

Questions, comments, concerns?


	21. The Hardest Part

Alright, I’m hoping to tie this off at twenty-five chapters. Discredit everything I have said previously!

X X X

~Two Weeks Later~

The hardest part was saying 'Goodbye.'

Rebecca Midler had called in some favors and gotten speedy convictions, hearings, and sentencing for Earl Strife and John Locke. Luka’s mother, the druggie, was checked into rehab within four days of the siege of the redbrick apartment building. They found out that Earl had been buying her drugs to keep her looped out of her mind and unaware of what he was doing to his son, but even with that knowledge, she could never be a fit mother. With the disgusting criminals behind bars, facing the convicts that hated child molesters and abusers, the beautiful broken children could finally move on. 

But something far more difficult than what they had faced through their young lives lay in wait for them.

Kairi’s closest relative lived more than five thousand miles from the city—hours away—terribly far from Sora, Namine, and Roxas. She would have to leave, move far away, to live with her Aunt Tifa. 

Sora and Luka, on the other hand, had no relatives that were willing to take them in. They would be handed over to the Foster Scare System as Roxas and Namine could not adopt them. Namine’s past was too violent. They feared she would turn into the same kind of person that the kids were trying to escape. Often times, people who were abused as children abused their own children, continuing the wretched cycle.

Tifa Lockhart had a clunky navy-blue Woody Station Wagon with a worn sunroof and a dented hood. Tifa herself wore an incredible amount of black and leather. She had long dark chocolate hair tumbling loose down her back, but she had a gorgeous winning smile. When she laid eyes on Kairi, she smiled and did not try to hug her. “Hello, honey,” she said. “It’s been rough, hasn’t it?”

Kairi nodded and then turned back to Sora. He and Luka were standing close and Sora had his arm tight around Kairi’s narrow waist. She wrapped her arms around him, clutching him tightly. He was almost completely healed now, with only a pink tender spot of healing flesh where the corkscrew had been. 

Leaving him was going to be the hardest thing she had ever had to do.

“Sora,” she whispered and sobbed against his chest.

Sora was silent, hugging her equally tight. His heart felt like it was rending into thousands of pieces. He liked Tifa on sight and he knew Kairi would be safe with her, but selfishly he wanted to keep her close to him. He had never wanted anything more than he wanted her, not even for his father to stop hitting him on the worst nights.

…

_When he woke up in the hospital, pushing out of the thick blackness that surrounded him, to find her at his side and holding his cold hand, his entire body filled with warmth. For a long while, he lay in that bed just watching her, gazing at the fall of cranberry hair against her pale cheeks. Then, he gently brushed a strand of hair from her face and she woke with a start._

_“Sora…” she murmured._

_Their eyes met. Hers welled with tears and Sora felt as if his were filled with stars._

_“Kai,” he whispered. “Have you been with me… the whole time?”_

_She nodded and then sat up. Her neck cracked loudly. She made a small sound of pain and put her hand to her back. Surely, sleeping bent over the bed at Sora’s side was not the best position for her neck or spine. “We all wanted to be close to you,” she whispered._

_Sora looked around and spotted Namine and Roxas also asleep in chairs around his bed. His little sister was sleeping as well. It must have been late._

_“What time is it?” Sora asked quietly, looking at the darkness looming beyond the window._

_Kairi rolled her shoulders. “I don’t know… maybe midnight. You’ve been asleep for a long time,” she whispered._

_“How long?”_

_“Two days at least.”_

_He closed his eyes. “And you’ve all been here that long?”_

_She nodded and smoothed her terrycloth robe against her thighs. Namine had brought her some clothes, but she had chosen to wear the robe over them. “I didn’t want to leave you,” she whispered._

_Sora squeezed her fingers tightly. “Thank you,” he murmured. “I’ve been alone my whole life… It’s good to know someone’s there.”_

_There were dark circles under her eyes. She looked tired. After a moment of gazing into his face, she laid her head on the bed again, but Sora tugged on her wrist._

_“Lay beside me,” he pleaded._

_Kairi looked up into his beautiful eyes and he saw no fear in her, even after what he had done to save her… even after raping her. “Okay,” she whispered and smiled._

_Sora scooted over on the bed, wincing as the cold metal bar pressed against his naked flesh. Kairi lay beside him on her side, resting her palm on the curve of his stomach. He breathed into her hair, shivering at the heat of her body against his._

_“Sora?”_

_“Hmm?”_

_“Thank you…”_

_“For what?”_

_“For saving me.”_

_Sora swallowed and she felt his fear._

_“I… really loved feeling you. It was like nothing I’d ever felt,” she whispered. “You were so gentle and warm.”_

_He held her closer against his side and murmured, “I’m sorry, but it was all I could think of.”_

_She didn’t say anything, but pressed tightly to him. Her fingers stroked small circles on the naked flesh below his damaged collarbone. He knew then that she had never blamed him, never even thought to. She was thanking him and the great weight of fear was lifted from his heart._

_“Thank you,” she whispered again._

_He nodded, resting his cheek on the crown of her head. “Kai…” he murmured but couldn’t find any other words to describe how he was feeling._

_Kairi’s deep breath grew warm and even on his chest, tickling the bare skin, and her stroking fingers stilled. Sora hugged her slender frame tightly, relishing the warmth that was radiating from her. He pulled the covers around them both and closed his eyes._

_They slept there in the dark, close and warm and finally safe._

…

Now, it was time for her to go.

Sora pushed Kairi back and held her by her shoulders. He didn’t say anything but smiled softly at her. “You’ll be safe,” he whispered.

She clutched his shirt and then put her shaking hands up to cup his face. His skin was pale and clear of bruises. He was healing wonderfully, showing the beautiful unmarred flesh and his gorgeous cerulean blue eyes. “I know, but you…”

He laid his palm over hers. “I’ll be alright,” he whispered. 

She inhaled deeply, trying to keep the tears at bay. Her throat was closed with a knot of anguish and sorrow. She didn’t want to leave him! “Sora,” she choked out desperately and flung her arms around his neck.

Sora hugged her tightly and then they finally stepped back from each other. Kairi’s violet eyes were filled with tears and Sora’s were shining.

Behind them, Namine and Roxas looked on, holding each other tightly as well. 

“You’ll write us, won’t you?” Namine asked as she wrapped her arms tightly around Kairi. “Whenever you can?”

Kairi nodded. “I will,” she whispered and hugged her avenging angel. 

Then, she hugged Roxas. “Take care of yourself,” he whispered.

She nodded, smiling through the tears that were beginning to streak her face.

Kairi knelt and hugged Luka though they exchanged no words. They shared only a long look that conveyed the deep love for the same beautiful broken young man with eyes the color of the sky. Then, Luka grinned at her and went to hold Namine’s hand. 

Sora held the car door open for Kairi, smiling down at her as she climbed into the passenger seat. She rolled down the window once Tifa started the car and reached out for Sora. He grasped her fingers, holding her hand tightly.

It would have been cruel to tell him that she loved him when she was just going to leave and he thought the same thing. Neither confessed their feelings, just kept them safe inside their healing hearts, choking as they were forced apart.

When Tifa began to drive, they held on for as long as they could. Then, finally, Sora was forced to let her fingers slip from his grip. He remained there, standing in the street, staring after the station wagon as it vanished down the road. Kairi was leaning out the window, gazing desperately after him with her hand still outstretched to reach for him. Her ruby-red hair was a banner, a flag, flying as if to wave goodbye to all the blood they had shed. 

Sora diminished in the rearview mirror while Kairi was driven on to a safe new life.

X X X

Questions, comments, concerns? 


	22. Kairi Hart

Phew. 

I was looking through the Kingdom Hearts characters for someone to be Sora’s foster parents and my gosh! Exactly how many people have been created from Sora’s heart? Does anyone know the actual number? (I’m going to try to count.) I mean, Sora’s doing a wonderful job of saving the world and healing hearts and all, but he should really learn to keep better track of his heart or we’re going to have a nice little army going!

When Kairi’s heart hid in Sora and he sacrificed himself to save her, his heart created Roxas and Namine. Right? That’s two.

Then, when Namine screwed with his memories, we get Xion who alternately appears as Ventus. That’s three.

And Ventus is also his very own person, the Key Bearer before Sora. He’s connected to Sora because his injured heart met Sora’s so now they are connected. That’s four.

And since Ventus inexplicably turns evil and becomes Vanitas, I’m assuming Sora is connected to him, too. That’s five.

And actually, I think that’s it… Kind of disappointing.

X X X

~Three Years Later~

The morning dawn clear and bright. There wasn’t a cloud in the clear blue sky and the air wasn’t too humid. The birds were chirping and swooping eagerly in search of the early worm. The grass was freshly dewed and the sun was just peeking through the trees on Kairi’s street. It was a perfect day for walking to school. She inhaled deeply and tipped her head back, just enjoying the serenity of the morning while it lasted and that wouldn’t be long…

“Kairi! Hey, Kairi! Hello, you dumb redhead! Wait for me!”

Kairi stopped on the sidewalk, half-turning to see her best friend Xion running towards her at full-tilt. In a blur of black, white, and blue, Xion skidded to a halt in front of Kairi, doubled over with her hands on her bent knees and panting from her run. 

Kairi grinned at her and said plainly, “I’ve told you over and over that you need a new alarm clock, but you never listen to me.”

“Har har,” Xion muttered. “You’re soooo hilarious.” Then, once she caught her breath, Xion swung a long bare caramel-tanned arm over Kairi’s shoulders and pulled her close. “So, it’s your birthday! Eighteen, woot!” she crowed. “So, what are you going to wish for when you blow out the candles?”

Kairi grinned at Xion and then met the girl’s cerulean blue eyes. They reminded her so much of Sora that it was painful. She hadn’t heard from him in three years, but she hadn’t been able to contact him either. When she wrote Namine, the nurse said he had moved out of the city and she was unable to find a way to get in touch with him.

Sora could be dead, but they would never know. They had no way of knowing.

Kairi looked away from Xion without answering the question. 

Xion scrutinized her. “What is it? Afraid of all the new freedom?” She put her elbow in Kairi’s ribs. “Come on, Kairi. We can go clubbing or something tonight. You can wear that sexy little skirt you have hiding in your closet.”

Kairi laughed out loud. “No way, Xion. I am never ever ever going to wear that skirt!”

“Aw, come on. Why not?” Xion whined.

“Because you can see my undies if I bend over!” 

“So don’t bend over. Simple problem: simple solution,” Xion said matter-of-factly. Xion wore short skirts all the time and always managed to find some way to show the world her underwear. Her solution to that problem wasn’t to wear leggings or shorts, but simply wear nice underwear. 

Kairi rolled her eyes. “No,” she said flatly. 

Xion jumped up and down, bouncing ahead of her down the sidewalk in a miniature temper tantrum. The hem of her black and white checkered skirt flounced, revealing Xion’s lavender panties. “Come on! We have to celebrate you turning eighteen somehow!”

“How about with cake?” Kairi grumbled, dragging along behind exuberant Xion on the way to school.

“That’s not good enough!” Xion put her foot on a tree and retied her black Converse high-tops. The man jogging by gawked at her visible panties and slammed into a trashcan that was set out at the curb. He went sprawling and Kairi simply stepped around him. Xion put her foot back on the ground, looking back at the jogger, and said, “What the heck is his problem? How do you miss a tie-dyed trashcan?”

“He was befuddled by your beauty,” Kairi said and grasped Xion’s arm. “Let’s go. We’re going to be late.”

“Right!”

…

The school day passed in typical fashion. Lots of people wished Kairi “Happy Birthday!” and a few gave her gifts. Each classroom sang to her and then, in Chorus, they focused solely on singing “Happy Birthday” in a round at different pitches, styles, and languages. The chorus teacher made a whole deal out of it. Someone had even gone so far as to fill her locker with balloons.

By lunch time, Kairi was going to wring the neck of the next person who wished her a “Happy Birthday” regardless of intentions.

Xion sat down on the bench beside Kairi, flailing her long legs through the small space while someone was close on her right and Kairi was on her left. “Stupid design,” Xion muttered once she was seated safely. “So, how’s your Monday going so far?”

“Horrible.”

“You’re telling me, I’ve had four pop quizzes!”

Kairi laughed. A pop quiz to Xion was worse than a lobster on your toe at the beach. “Yeah, A-plus or F-plus?”

“Are you kidding? I’ll be lucky to get an E for Effort!” She took a big bite from a suspicious-looking sandwich and then grimaced. “Cafeteria tuna is especially more mayonnaise-tastic than usual today.”

Kairi took a bite out of her apple. “Stands to reason why you expect it to change and keep buying it,” she said flatly.

Xion parted the bread and scrutinized the contents. Then, she gave the sandwich a squeeze and watched everything slop out the side.

“Quit playing with your food!” 

“Yes Mom,” Xion sneered. 

Kairi grinned and took another bite of her apple while Xion dissected her sandwich and made a spectacular array of disgusted faces. Just like that, her stupid birthday was already looking up. 

…

Kairi met Xion outside the school at the end of the day, waiting patiently so they could walk home together as they always did, but as usual Xion was running late. Kairi chose a bench beneath the big Sakura trees and sat down to wait. Students bustled past her on their way home, catching rides with each other, and snagging buses.

“Hi, you’re Kairi, right?”

The redhead looked up into Terra’s face. She could admit that he was attractive, just… not to her. 

She only had eyes for Sora, even though it had been three years since she last saw him. Every time she thought of spending time with a boy, she thought of Sora’s cerulean eyes and the way he had taken her so gently even under the terrible situation they had been in at the time. She was still hopelessly in love with him. 

“That’s me. Hi, Terra. You’re in Chemistry, right?”

He nodded. “So, I just wanted to wish you Happy Birthday. You’re eighteen, right?”

“Yup,” she said. “Xion insists I should do something special tonight…”

Terra sat down beside her and smiled. “You should. So you’re busy tonight?”

She shrugged. “I guess so. Xion probably has a million things planned for me. She wants to go clubbing.”

“So, are you doing anything Friday?”

For a moment, Kairi looked at him blankly and then started to shake her head. Suddenly, she realized her was asking her out on a date and she bit her lip. “Oh, Terra,” she murmured. “I’m sorry, but there’s… someone else…”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know you have a boyfriend.” Terra’s cheeks tinged pink and he got up hurriedly. 

“Oh, Terra, wait. I’m sorry!” Kairi called but he had already scrambled to his feet and was making quick work of fleeing before her.

Xion came trotting out of the high school, dark blue-black hair bouncing around her cheeks. “Kairi!” she called eagerly. “Oh, Terra, wait up!” Her skirt flounced around her creamy thighs and every male eye was drawn to her. 

Terra didn’t stop.

“What’s his problem?” Xion asked as she skidded to a stop next to Kairi.

Kairi lowered her eyes. “He just asked me out on a date.”

“And I’m guessing by the way he’s running away, you turned him down. I hope you did it gently. Terra is a great guy, really sweet. I have English with him and he writes some really deep stuff,” Xion said and gazed at Terra’s retreating back. Then, she turned to Kairi. “He’s such a hottie. Why’d you turn him down?”

“Can we walk and talk?”

“Sure.”

They chattered about school and music and books until they were off school campus. 

Then, Kairi turned to Xion and continued where she left off. 

“Because… Xion, do you remember the boy I told you about and all the stuff that happened to me before I came to live with Aunt Tifa?” Kairi asked a little nervously. She had told Xion everything a year into their friendship, desperate for someone to speak to about everything that had happened. Xion was a beautiful friend. She cried with Kairi and laughed with her and shared every moment with her. 

Xion put a hand through her short hair. “Yeah, Sora Strife… Is that what this is about? Him?”

Kairi nodded. “I’m still in love with him, Xion.”

“I’m sure. I mean, come on. The guy did a lot for you and you’d both been through the same kind of pain. I’m sure you’ll have some love for Sora Strife for the rest of your life,” Xion said quietly. “But, it’s been three years and you haven’t even spoken to him. I think… maybe you should try dating Terra, just to see how it goes.”

Kairi looked at the sidewalk. “I know I should, but every time I think about it… I just see his beautiful eyes watching me.”

“Watching you?”

She nodded. “I just feel like I should… wait for him. I feel like I’m meant to wait for him.”

Xion slung her arm over Kairi’s shoulder and hugged her tightly. “Well, you do what you think is right,” she said. “There’s nothing I can do to stop or persuade you otherwise.”

“Now why can’t you have that attitude about the skirt?” Kairi asked. 

“Because that skirt is spooktacular!” Then, Xion laughed loud and contagious. Soon, Kairi was giggling along with her.

…

After bidding farewell to Xion and promising to call her later, Kairi stepped into the house, calling, “I’m home! Aunt Tifa, I’m home!” 

“Hey, honey, how was school?” Tifa said and poked her head out of her studio. There was a smear of blue paint on her cheek and some green on her wrists. “I’ve started a wonderful new piece!”

“I’m happy for you,” Kairi said. “I promised Xion I’d go out with her tonight. I think she wants to take me clubbing. Is that alright with you?”

Tifa was an artist. She painted beautiful thick and smeary acrylic on yawning black canvas. Then she inlaid thin pieces of glass so that the entire piece looked like a shimmering stained glass window looking out over the night. She normally painted beautiful people over the glass. Her work was very sought after.

She was also very young and pretty with no children of her own and no boyfriend to speak of, which Kairi found rather enjoyable. During the first six months Kairi lived with her, Tifa didn’t even invite men over. Kairi found that rather sweet, but even now Tifa went out on a few dates only to stop answering the phone when the guys called her. It was almost like she was… waiting for someone special… just like Kairi was.

Tifa ducked back into her studio. “Just so long as you’re going with Xion. Make sure you’re careful and don’t’ accept drinks from anyone you don’t know,” she paused. “Actually, don’t accept drinks period and stick with Xion. She’s a hazard to the world.”

Kairi giggled. “That she is.” She started to climb the stairs and then stopped to call back down. “Oh, she wants me to wear that skirt.”

“Which skirt?”

“THAT skirt!”

“Oh. You know what? I think you should wear it.”

“Really?” Kairi asked, shocked.

“Yeah, it’s time.”

…

Kairi strode nervously down the stairs. She had already gone up and down about three times, trying to find a way to chicken out of wearing the skirt. Finally, the doorbell rang and since she was already downstairs, she didn’t get a chance to sneak out and change again.

Xion was wearing a scoop-neck clingy black satin tank top with a wild pattern of shimmering obsidian stones and sequins. She was wearing a lacy red bra underneath it, showing the cups in the low neck and the swell of B-cup breasts. The shirt was short, showing several inches of her flat stomach where she had drawn a few swirls around her bellybutton in Sharpie. Then, she had on a short tattered denim skirt that was so dark blue it was almost black with slits up the side to her hips. Kairi took a moment to wonder what was holding the skirt together until she spotted the two safety pins. Her short dark hair was loose around her face. She had shiny razorblade earrings dangling from her lobes and a black studded choker. On Xion’s feet were strappy black stilettos. 

“Hey, doll, ready to go?” she asked. Then, Xion really looked at Kairi and whistled. “I told you that skirt was kick ass. You look fine.”

Kairi blushed and ran her hands down her stomach. “Really?”

She was wearing a pretty pink shirt that clung to her curvy torso perfectly. It was bedecked in zippers, two coming up on each side of her ribs with one going up between her breasts. This one she had zipped as high as it would go, hiding her white bra beneath. The skirt was something Xion had bought and then demolished into something “super sexy” as she claimed. It was black leather and unbelievably short. There were horizontal zippers going all over the skirt in random lengths and places. A few over her thighs Kairi had unzipped to show some pale flesh while the others remained tightly closed. She had her long rosette hair wound up into a sloppy bun high n her head. On her feet, she was wearing a pair of Xion’s strappy pink heels. 

Tifa kissed her cheek. “You look beautiful. Go on out and have fun,” she said.

“Yeah, but before that… one more thing,” Xion said. She grabbed the zipper that went between Kairi’s breasts and yanked it down almost to her navel. 

“Xion!” Kairi gasped and tried to jerk the zipper back up. Xion grabbed her wrists, restraining them.

“Oh, leave it, honey. You look wonderful,” Tifa said and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, revealing the dangling cerulean teardrop stones she wore in her lobes. “Cute earrings. Go on and have fun.” She turned to Xion. “You’ll watch over her, right?”

“Yes, ma’am!” Xion said with a mock-salute. 

Tifa once again lowered the zipper between Kairi’s breasts, not as low as Xion had yanked it, but low. Kairi’s smaller B-cups swelled over the white cups of her bra innocently as she breathed deeply. Xion grinned, knowing she had won this battle as she shoed Kairi out the door. 

…

Xion had a sleek low-slung secondhand jet-black car from her father’s junkyard. She got it buffed out, cleaned out, and waxed twice a month. As a result, most guys wanted to get in her pants just to get in her car. She slipped behind the wheel, drumming her long fingers on the steering wheel while she waited for Kairi to get in. There was a shimmering key keychain hanging from the rearview mirror.

“Excited?” Xion asked.

Kairi let out a rush of breath. “Nervous,” she said. She smoothed the skirt over her naked thighs and fiddled with a few zippers before Xion gave her the fish eye.

“Don’t even think about zipping that!”

Kairi stuck her tongue out at Xion, but her friend saw through the façade easily.

“Oh, Kairi, we don’t have to do anything tonight unless you want to. We can go to a cheap drive through and eat burritos and powdered donuts all night if you want,” she offered.

Kairi slapped her face lightly and sniffled. “No,” she said. “Even Aunt Tifa thinks it’s time I went out. Let’s go.”

Xion looked a little worried, but she put the car in drive and pulled away from the curb. The ride to the club wasn’t the longest of her life, but it was second only to feeling Sora’s fingers slipping from hers and watching him disappear from the rearview mirror. 

Then, Xion swung into a parking spot easily, took the keys from the ignition, and stepped out. Wobbling in her high heels, Kairi hurried after her. She wasn’t completely comfortable in the skirt and heels. She wasn’t Xion and she had lived fifteen years of her life under John’s thumb. Skirts without leggings and short skirts period weren’t anything she was used to wearing. 

Xion took her elbow and steadied her. “Stop looking at your feet,” she scolded. “Just walk.”

Kairi lifted her chin, looking up at the glowing petals on neon against the starry sky. Xion handed over some money for them both at the door, took Kairi’s arm, and led her into the dimly lit pulsing club full of grinding packed bodies. The music throbbed through them like a second heartbeat.

Xion hip-chucked her against the low bar and said, “So, let’s dance! If we get separated and can’t find each other, plan to meet at the car. If I lose you in this mess, I’ll look for you there. If you lose me, look there. Okay?”

Kairi nodded.

Xion hugged her tightly and crowed, “It’s your birthday! Let’s dance!” Then, she pulled her eagerly into the crowd.

The press of sardine-close bodies unnerved and frightened Kairi for a moment, but Xion saw to that. She turned and gripped Kairi’s shoulders tightly in her hands. She began to twist and writhe, shaking Kairi’s body as she danced. Xion’s eyes glowed like lanterns and she smiled so broadly that Kairi’ felt the contagion take root in her lips. Soon, she was equally into dancing–arms above her head, fingers twisted through her hair, jumping with the tempo of the music, and mainly following Xion’s lead. They danced like that, with only each other, for what felt like forever. Kairi’s body felt full of light. She felt beautiful and perfect, untouched by her dark past. 

This felt great. 

Someone had Xion by the hips and was grinding against her. Xion had her head tipped back, eyes closed, and lips parted. She looked orgasmic and beautiful, dark hair sticking to the sweat on her neck.

Feeling courageous, Kairi put her back against the man behind her, stretching along the length of his strong shoulders. He turned almost immediately, pressing against the back of her. His hands burned hot on her hips, scorching her body. She panted, feeling flushed and out of breath.

“Hey.” His voice was sultry smooth against her ear, seeming soft even though he was shouting over the music. “Let’s get a drink.”

Kairi’s throat was burning as parched as sandpaper and she nodded without thinking.

Xion shouted to her, sounding breathless. “Kairi, where are you going?!”

“Just to get a drink,” she said. “I’ll be right back.”

Xion pushed away from the man who was holding her and tried to follow Kairi, but the music tempo changed and a mosh pit was started up. Xion was sucked into it and lost in the fray. She shouted for Kairi, but the young woman was already seated at the bar.

“Two rum and Cokes,” the man was saying to the bartender. 

Kairi said softly, “I’m eighteen. I can’t drink.”

“Come on, just a little won’t hurt you.” He smiled and it was winning, sparkling beautiful with white straight teeth. He had dark hair, far darker than Xion’s, and it spiked wildly in all directions on his head. It looked like… Sora’s, but he had frighteningly heated gold eyes. They looked like molten metal, searing against Kairi’s very soul. She was drowning in those eyes. Half-consciously, she reached to touch his hair and stiff gelled peaks met her fingers. 

She pulled back sharply, feeling rattled and chilled.

What was she thinking? This man wasn’t Sora… right? He couldn’t be, not without Sora’s beautiful eyes.

“What’s your name?” she whispered.

“Vanitas,” he said and smiled with those big chewing teeth of his.

The bartender slid the drinks across the bar and Vanitas paid him, tipping him handsomely by the look of it. 

“You look thirsty,” Vanitas said and swallowed her up in his eyes again. “Drink…”

She held the glass in her hands and the chill went through her arms up into her shoulders. She shivered and Vanitas’s hot hands fell on her shoulders again. 

“Are you cold? We could step out…” His lips brushed her cheek, burning her skin.

She closed her eyes, frightened, but then a flame of anger took root in her belly. She was an adult, not a child any more. She didn’t have to take this sick attention. She didn’t need Sora to sacrifice himself to save her. She put her hands against his chest and shoved him back.

“I have no intention of going anywhere with you,” she said plainly.

“So, there’s someone else, is there…?” Vanitas hissed, drilling into her with those eyes of his. 

She hesitated, thinking of Sora’s beautiful eyes and his soft wild hair in natural spikes, and then the three years it had been since she’d seen him. She wanted to say “No,” but she couldn’t. The word stuck in her throat like a burning stone. She thought of the pain he had gone through for her, sacrificed himself for her sake. 

“Well, is there someone?”

She didn’t say anything, just stared at him.

Vanitas raised a brow and took a deep gulp of his drink. “Have it your way, then,” he said. Then, he plucked the drink from her hands and sidled down the bar to where another girl was just finishing a drink of her own.

Kairi let her breath out in a rush and then Xion’s hands were on her shoulders. “Are you okay? I saw that guy! He was dead sexy, but dangerous looking.”

“I’m fine,” Kairi said and grinned. “I really am!” 

Xion smiled at her and hugged her around her shoulders. “I’m glad. Now, come on. Let’s dance!”

…

When the night was over, Kairi lay in her bed. She was tired and sore from dancing so much and her face hurt from smiling. Most of all, her feet ached from those stupid high heels, but it had all been worth it. For the first time, she felt beautiful and free. The past seemed a long way away, but…

So did Sora.

X X X

I can’t believe everyone thought A.) Sora was going to die and B.) that this story was going to end with them all so unhappily apart. 

And I’ve never been clubbing so forgive any mistakes in this chapter.

Questions, comments, concerns?


	23. Sora Strife

I don’t really have much to say or gripe about right now… just maybe that this story will be ending soon.

X X X

~Three Years Later~

It looked a little rainy so Sora shouldered his black umbrella, not yet needing to open it. Beside him, Luka twirled her rosy umbrella over her narrow shoulders, smiling up at him as she walked and chattering excitedly. It was nice to see her looking so carefree and it felt even better himself. Sora sighed and stretched his arms high over his head.

He wondered how Kairi was doing…

“Sora? You’re getting that look again,” Luka said and twisted a lock of platinum hair around her slender finger.

He grinned at her sheepishly. “Am I?”

She smiled cheekily. “Thinking about a certain someone?”

His cheek felt hot and he put his elbow in his little sister’s ribs. 

Luka shoved him back, knocking her hip against his and was pleased to feel that Sora’s frame wasn’t skeleton-thin anymore. He stumbled dramatically and laughed. “I wonder how Kairi is doing,” Luka said seriously.

Sora rolled his shoulders. “I guess she’s alright. Why wouldn’t she be?”

Luka glanced at him and saw that his eyes were dark with worry. 

“Hey, Sora, I’m sure she’s fine.”

“Yeah…”

It had been three years and he hadn’t seen her, hadn’t even talked to her. He knew he should have put up more of a fight when foster parents came to adopt him and his sister. He could have begged, gotten on his knees and begged to see Namine and Roxas because they surely had Kairi’s address. But, his pride had been healing and he was reluctant to smash it to pieces again. Never speaking to Kairi or Namine and Roxas… that was the price of his confidence. 

He would regret it every day, but he was turning nineteen today. He could–

“Sora?”

“Huh?” 

Luka put a hand on his chest and said, “I know you love me, but you don’t have to walk me into school, okay?”

Sora realized he had been blindly following Luka and was almost right in the middle school with her. A few girls giggled, blushing wildly when he turned his beautiful eyes to them. Sora smiled at his sister, but it came out a little strained. “Yeah, sorry,” he said sheepishly and then turned to hurry up to the high school. 

…

Sora pushed through the high school doors and, unlike his old school, there was no anonymity here. The school was smaller, topping out at maybe two thousand students to his old school’s ten. Everybody knew everybody else and everybody knew him. Immediately, someone called his name.

He turned and found himself nose to nose with Cloud. Cloud had been the only sought after high school “hottie” before Sora came. Now, it seemed on occasion that Sora was winning out. Cloud was taller, with a more muscular build. He wore a lot of gothic black–black jeans, tight-fitting black t-shirts, silver chains hanging from his pockets–and his blonde hair was spiked to perfection with extra-hold gel. But Cloud happened to attract girls by stoically ignoring them. Sora, on the other hand, was friendly and outgoing and the scars on his visible skin brought out maternal instincts. Girls wanted to coddle and protect Sora while they only wanted to kiss Cloud. 

Cloud would have had it out with Sora over the girls, but something always prevented him. At this point, he had settled for simply glowering a few inches from Sora’s face, not that the smaller boy was intimidated in the least. 

“Good morning, Cloud,” Sora said nicely.

Cloud grunted and then scrutinized Sora. “You haven’t had a girlfriend for three years. Are you just jerking around all these girls to prevent them from coming to me?”

Sora shook his head. “No, there’s someone I never really got over.”

“What a load of shit,” Cloud snapped.

Sora narrowed his eyes to sky-colored slits. He looked about to snipe at Cloud, but someone put a warm had around his elbow. 

“Just ignore him, Sora. Let’s go.” Olette, her chocolate tresses looking slept on, smiled up at him cheerfully. “Come on. Selphie and the others are waiting.”

Sora looked back over his shoulder at Cloud, who had his arms folded over his broad chest and was glowering something fierce. Cloud did a little finger wave and then Olette had already pulled Sora around the corner to where everyone was crowded around a grouping of lockers. 

“Hey, everybody,” Sora said and waved halfheartedly. Cloud always got to him. Maybe that was why Olette made it her personal mission to watch his back and keep Cloud at a safe distance, though several walls between them wasn’t normally enough.

“Come on, Sora,” Selphie said. It wasn’t an exaggeration to say her hair had been attacked by a curling iron gone haywire this morning. At least Olette only had bed head and, with Sora’s wild spikes, they all sort of blended in together. 

“Yea, just leave him lie, champ,” Rikku said cheerfully and bounced her arms around Sora’s waist. She hugged him tightly, heedless as always of the way he tried to put some space between their bodies.

Paine grabbed Rikku by her red scarf and gave her a yank. “Leave him alone. We’ve gone over this a million times, Rikku. He doesn’t like you!”

Rikku continued gripping Sora by the shoulders and looked by at Paine with wide innocent eyes. “But why?”

Yuna put her hand on Rikku’s shoulder and encouraged her to step back. “Because he still misses Kairi,” she said softly.

“You should pay her a visit,” Selphie said. “You have a car, after all.”

Sora lowered his eyes. “I don’t know where she lives.”

“I’m sure someone does,” Olette said.

“You could look in the phone book!” Selphie exclaimed and smoothed her yellow skirt over her thighs. 

“It’s been three years,” Sora said softly. “I’m sure she doesn’t even remember me.”

“After going through everything you went through together, how could she not remember you?” Rikku squealed, jumping up and down on the balls of her feet. Her blonde tresses bounced wildly around her face. “If she doesn’t, then she doesn’t have a heart!”

“That’s true,” Yuna said softly, touching Sora’s elbow. “Going by what you said, you two will have a bond for the rest of your lives.”

Sora bit his lip. “But it’s been three years,” he repeated. 

Olette put her hands on his shoulders and grinned up into his face. “Come on, how could she forget these eyes?”

“Yeah,” Rikku said and bounced around him. “They’re just gorgeous,” she said and pounced on him.

Paine once again pulled her off of Sora.

“Thanks, girls, but I don’t think…”

The bell rang, cutting him off. 

“We’ll talk about it at lunch, okay?” Olette said and hugged him before hurrying off to her homeroom. 

Yuna, Rikku, and Paine Gullwing hustled off to their own class, together, as sisters frequently did. 

Sora’s homeroom had Selphie and Cloud in it. As a result, it was his least favorite moment of the day for certain since Selphie got her kicks from pointing out and listing all the things about Sora that were better than Cloud. Cloud got riled up rather quickly. He had taken a swing at Sora thrice and at Selphie once, much to everyone’s surprise. Sora had brought him to the ground in two seconds flat after that with a monstrous crash. 

“Selphie,” Sora said as he took his seat behind her, neatly separating her and Cloud. “Please don’t antagonize Cloud this morning, okay?”

She looked put out, but said, “Sure, Sora. Whatever you say.”

A few girls giggled as they passed by Sora, hoping to attract his attention and look into those beautiful eyes of his. He ignored them all in favor of scribbling vigorously at his neglected English homework. After homeroom, the school day passed by in a typical fashion.

…

At lunch, Sora was relieved to be free of the giggling hoards that usually followed him around and Cloud’s menacing glare. It was only he, Selphie, and Olette at their lonely little table in the corner by the windows. Occasionally, girls tried to worm into their table, but Olette always made quick work of them. (Yuna, Rikku, and Paine had a different lunch period.) Sora bought lunch and slipped into the open seat beside Olette. Selphie had her nose in a fruit cup, digging out a last piece of watermelon.

“Hey, Sora,” Selphie said. “How’s it hanging?”

“Could be better,” he muttered and took a bite of his sandwich. 

“How many times have you been asked out today, Sora?” Olette asked. 

“Twice,” he murmured. 

“And now you feel bad because you had to tell them no?” she continued.

He nodded.

“You’re the sweetest, Sora,” Selphie said. 

“It would have been worse of you to say yes and string them along when you don’t like them,” Olette told him. “They would have found out eventually.”

“I guess you’re right…”

Olette and Selphie exchanged a glance and Selphie put her face back into her fruit cup quickly. Olette put her eyes to her food, picking at some suspicious cafeteria green salad. Silence reigned over the small table. 

Sora was so sweet. 

His mother had died giving him life, something his father blamed him for. He had been beaten within an inch of his life by his father, by a man he should have been able to trust with no mother to speak of. He loved a girl he hadn’t seen in three years. He had sacrificed so much for this girl only to be separated from her. Now, he felt bad for turning down girls who asked him out because he was unable to think of anyone other than her.

His beautiful eyes were dark with these things, but he held his head high, trying not to be crushed by life.

Under the table, Olette kicked Selphie. 

Selphie yelped, glowering into Olette’s spring-green eyes. 

They exchanged a long look and then went back to their lunches while Sora remained dreadfully silent.

It was then that the decision was made.

…

Much to his surprise, by the end of the day, Olette presented him with a sheet of paper and some neat pink handwriting. 

“What is this?”

She grinned at him and winked. Then, she hurried off to catch her bus without saying a word. 

Wrinkling his brow, Sora unfolded the sheet and looked at the neat little address printed on it in Olette’s feminine handwriting. He gasped, heart catching in his throat. It was Kairi’s address and she only lived a few hundred miles away. He could drive there easily within a single day. 

His heart leaped into his throat and stuck there for a long moment. 

“Sora!” Luka called and waved to him. “Come on. Let’s go!”

He pushed the address deep into his pocket and hurried to catch up with his little sister. He didn’t tell her about Kairi’s address. She would have told him to leave today, to go see her right away, without a thread of hesitation. 

Sora didn’t know if he was ready for that.

If he appeared at her doorstep and she didn’t remember him… or worse, didn’t want to see him… he didn’t know if his healing heart could take that. There were still a lot of cracks in his soul, breaks that would either heal when he saw her or destroy him to the core.

…

Per usual, as it had been when he lived in the horrible redbrick apartment building, Sora came home with Luka, changed his clothes, and left for work. As before, he worked at a crappy little diner with a popular little ice cream parlor. But unlike before, he was rarely late. Girls lined up at the ice cream counter to get a peak at him and one of the waitresses joked that they should name an ice cream flavor after Sora because it would sell out every single day. 

The Gullwing sisters worked there, too, but only Yuna shared a shift with him. (Paine and Rikku worked weekends and late shifts. Yuna only worked after school on weekdays.) 

Yuna swished passed him, smiling that serene little smile of hers. “Hey, Sora, long time no see,” she said. “Could you take over the ice cream counter?”

“Sure.”

“Thanks,” she said and smiled. The skirt of her apron brushed his leg as they passed. 

Sora stepped behind the counter and organized the people into a line. Within a few minutes, he had everyone lined up neatly and was beginning to work through the crowd. Cones and sundaes and sprinkles and hot fudge, a never ending trail of sweets and sugar, multicolored and bright. He enjoyed working the ice cream counter. Seeing everyone’s cheerful smiling faces and parents taking wonderful care of their children and young people out with friends made him unbelievably happy.

Before he knew it, everyone had been served and was moving on to chatter outside. Only one girl with stringy mousy brown hair took a seat at the counter, sipping her root beer float and gazing into it as if something lurked there, and Sora meandered down to see why she was looking so lonely on such a lovely day.

“Hello,” he said and smiled his soft cheesy smile. “Anything else I can get you?”

She shook her head.

“You look rather lonely on such a glorious day,” Sora continued and wiped down the counter with a clean cloth. 

She glanced up at him and, peering at him through dark sunglasses. Within an instant, she had lowered her face to her ice cream again, studiously ignoring him. Sora knew that look and he hated to have seen it on his own face for fifteen years in the terrible silver mirror. He leaned over the counter and gently touched her ice-cold hand. She shivered at the heat of his flesh and pulled her hand away.

“It’s not alright,” he murmured to her. 

She looked up into his face and he could glimpse two black eyes hidden behind her dark glasses. She knew he saw them and quickly pushed the glasses back up on her nose, hiding the injuries. “I fell,” she whispered.

Sora shook his head. “I’ve used that excuse myself,” he murmured.

She looked up at him again. “You…?”

He put his finger to the white scar on the corner of his mouth and said softly, “Knife.”

She shivered, gripping her upper arm where Sora was sure a similar scar was hidden by her long sleeves. 

“It’s not alright,” Sora continued, wiping down the counter again to appear casual. “No one has the right to do that to you. You must turn them in and get away before it kills you.”

“Kills me? He’d never–” she put her hands to her mouth with a gasp. 

Sora ran his hand over his chest though the stab wounds only showed in scars on his back. He could still feel the plunging cold of the knife through is body and the corkscrew twisted deep in the flesh above his hip. She followed the path of his hand. He could see her eyes darting behind her sunglasses. 

“Maybe not yet, but eventually. You know it will happen again,” Sora murmured. 

She shivered, nodding. 

“How long?”

“F-forever,” she whispered.

“Who?”

“My… boyfriend…” 

Sora closed his eyes and nodded slowly. 

“How… How did you know?” she asked. “I’ve never met you before in my life…”

Sora put his hands on the counter, knowing she could see the white scars going up his arms to disappear beneath the sleeves of his polo shirt. “We can tell our own,” he whispered.

“Did you… get away?”

He nodded. 

“And they couldn’t follow?”

He shook his head.

“Were they punished?”

He nodded.

She looked into her float, shuddering. “Who do I go to?”

“The police,” he said gently. “Just bring your bruises, but you have to want to tell them. You have to tell them everything.”

She pulled off her sunglasses and looked up into his face. Her one eye was swollen shut and the other was swirled with blood. For a long moment, she gazed into Sora’s eyes, seeing every broken part of him that only others who had suffered as he had could see. “Your eyes…” she whispered. “I saw them in my dreams. Are you an angel?”

Sora smiled and shook his head. “No,” he whispered softly.

She put her glasses back on and began to lower her face again. Sora put his fingers beneath her chin and lifted her face to look at him.

“Please,” he murmured. 

Her lips curved in a small smile. “Can I come back here and see you… when it’s all over?”

He nodded, smiling eagerly. “Better yet,” he scribbled his cell phone number on a napkin. “Call me if you need anything and I’ll do whatever I can.”

She took it with shaking fingers and her cold skin touched his. For a moment, he gripped her hands and she looked at him with heartbreaking honesty. He knew she would go for help, maybe even right after she left the parlor. 

“Thank you,” she whispered. 

“You’re welcome,” he said and smiled at her. 

She took her float, threw it away, and then stepped out into the golden sunlight. For a moment, she looked like a heavenly being, like a fallen angel. She reminded him of Namine, the beautiful avenging angel who had saved both him and Kairi. 

Sora wiped away the ring of condensation on the counter, smiling sadly to himself.

…

“Sorry, I’m late,” Sora called as he shrugged out of his coat in the foyer. “Work was mobbed tonight.”

“Sora, you’re late!” His foster mother, kind and beautiful Aqua, called from the kitchen. She poked her head around the threshold to glower at him. “Everything is getting cold. Get in here!”

“I said I was sorry,” Sora said as he stepped into the kitchen. 

His foster father, Ventus, and Luka were already sitting at the table which had been set with a steaming roast chicken, green beans, cranberry sauce, and hot rolls. Ventus was grinning from his seat at the head of the table, blue eyes sparkling with mirth. Luka also wore a stifled smile. 

“What is it?” Sora asked, glancing around for Aqua. Suddenly, his shadow spread out in front of him, falling across the table. He turned around sharply and found Aqua’s smiling face and water-colored tresses lit with a spread of candles on a big birthday cake.

“Happy Birthday,” she said softly. 

Behind him, Luka and Ventus began to sing.

It was adorable how surprised Sora looked. It had been three years and still he expected nothing on his birthday. He didn’t even tell his friends about it. He was used to his birthday also being the day of his mother’s death and receiving an even more brutal beating as a present.

“Thank you,” he murmured once they stopped singing. His cerulean eyes sparkled. 

“Blow out the candles,” Aqua murmured, “and make a wish.”

Sora closed his eyes, picturing Kairi’s face as he remembered it peering out at him through the open car window with her red hair whipping around her face and her violet eyes looking so desperate. He blew out every candle on that cake, wishing only that she remembered him fondly. Then, they sat down to the beautiful dinner Aqua had prepared, eating cake first simply because they could. 

…

After dinner, everyone moved into the living room, settling in to watch a movie as they often did after the evening meal. It was a wonderful period of family togetherness that Sora hadn’t experienced until moving in with them. Luka lay across a big overstuffed armchair, flipping through a magazine. Ventus and Aqua sat together on the couch, arms around each other in an incredibly loving way so that they both glowed with a light all their own. Sora chose to sit in the round bamboo chair all covered in cushions and pillows. When he was still healing, the cushions had been wonderful on his many injuries. Now, it was simply a comfort thing. 

It was then that Sora chose to tell them of his plans. 

“I’m going to go visit Kairi,” he said stiffly.

Aqua looked up from Ventus’s face as he was lying with his blonde head in her lap. “That’s a wonderful idea, but… we don’t know where she lives and you said she moved far from your home city,” Aqua pointed out, not negatively.

“Actually, somehow Olette found her address and gave it to me,” Sora said.

Aqua smiled. “Then, it’s definitely a wonderful idea. I think you should leave this Saturday so you can spend a few days with her.”

“But…”

Ventus sat up and looked at Sora knowingly. “I’m sure she misses you,” he said. 

“But…”

“Then she doesn’t. She won’t hate you, surely.”

“How could you know?” Sora whispered.

“People aren’t all bad,” Ventus said. 

Aqua smiled and nodded. “I think you should go otherwise you’ll always wonder and you’ll never be able to move on.”

Sora’s eyes met hers, not quite the same beautiful shade of blue. Then, turned to Ventus’s blue eyes. 

Luka looked over at him and said, “I think you should go. Maybe you’ll stop getting that look all the time. Besides, it’s Kairi. I’m sure she wants to see you, too.”

They all gave him strength.

Sora smiled and nodded.

That was it.

He’d go see Kairi.

X X X

I don’t know if Aqua and Ventus are really a couple but it seemed pretty likely with Sora being Ventus, Kairi being Aqua, and Riku being Terra as Key Wielders. So that’s that and that’s why I did it.

Questions, comments, concerns?


	24. Reunion

Actually, I got interested in Kingdom Hearts because I read something online that said it was very similar to my favorite series Tsubasa and I was looking for something fresh to write. Sora’s even voiced by the same guy who voices Syaoran (Miyu Irino). So I watched some videos of clips and AMVs, read the manga since I suck at video games, and was instantly captivated by Sora’s eyes. That’s why I talk about them a lot in my stories. I also google every character before I use them and look at lots of pictures in an attempt to capture them correctly. (I’m very glad to see I am doing a good job of this.) 

I’m really interested in the way Sora, Kairi, and Riku make a wonderful love triangle. That’s something that Tsubasa doesn’t even have a chance at. (Syaoran has absolutely no competition.) But Sora and Riku competing over Kairi rather epically is wonderful! That’s kind of what attracted me to it.

X X X

Sora had never been so nervous in his entire life as he sat in his clunky car outside the Lockhart house. He hadn’t been able to sleep last night and had decided to leave early, arriving at six that morning and getting two hours of sleep in the backseat of his car. Now, he was looking up at the colonial style house with white siding and pretty dark blue shutters. There was a nicely tended garden around the house, burgeoning with beautiful flowers. The house was surrounded by big old trees with good strong spirits. 

It was a safe place. 

Sora knew Kairi had had a good three years of life in this house.

Had she forgotten him and everything she had suffered through while she lived in this safety? He couldn’t blame her if she had…

Taking a deep breath, he pushed open the door and stepped out of the car. The crisp cool air wrapped around him and he smelled the vague scent of the sea on the morning breeze. The ocean… he had never seen the ocean before. 

…

It was rather early when there was a knock on Tifa Lockhart’s front door. She had fallen asleep at her studio table with tubes of acrylic, brushes, cups of dirty water, gesso, thick pasty glitter that she sometimes liked to use, compasses, and the box of glass shards she used as a trademark were spread out around her. She had her face on a stack newspaper and knew immediately that the print was fused to her skin with drool. Wiping uselessly at her face with the shoulder of her shirt, she stumbled to the door and pulled it open, expecting Xion.

The young man at the door had eyes similar to Xion’s, but nothing else. His face looked familiar to her, but she wasn’t entirely sure where she had seen him before.

“Who are you?” Tifa said plainly, never one to mince words.

He lowered those eyes of his, those beautiful sparkling cerulean eyes, hiding his face from her.

“A wanderer? Come on,” she coaxed because it didn’t look like he intended any harm. “What’s your name?”

“I’m… Sora Strife,” he whispered. 

Immediately, the name went down her spine like a shock of ice. Tifa’s eyes widened. “From–?” she gasped out.

He nodded. “From the redbrick apartment building,” he whispered. 

…

Kairi had to choose then to come wandering down the stairs, still dressed in her pajamas. For a moment, she couldn’t believe the sight standing in the threshold of Tifa’s front door: the young man with wild chestnut-colored hair and those glow-in-the-dark cerulean eyes. It was Sora. It had to be Sora. He looked stronger and more confident, no longer the dying skeleton covered in bruises. He was a beautiful young man covered in old scars, but healed.

She wanted him so badly that her heart got caught in her throat, freezing the name she desperately wanted to speak. She was trapped on the stairs, looking down on her aunt and the boy she had longed for for so long.

…

“You loved Kairi,” Tifa said softly.

Those eyes came up, met hers, darkened, and he looked quickly away. “That’s not true,” he whispered.

…

Kairi’s heart froze in her throat, caught like a leaded stone, choking off the air to her heart. Her blood went ice-cold, like dead blood, like she was already dead. Her hair looked blood-colored in her peripheral vision. If Kairi had always been made of unbreakable translucent diamond, she shattered into bits right now at those words coming from his lips.

“What?” she whispered. Her word was like a needle of ice shooting straight through Sora’s chest, impaling deep into his heart. He realized then how those words had sounded, but there was no chance to take it back now. Already, he had screwed up. Maybe his father was right and that was all he had ever been: a class-A screw up, a worthless piece of shit, and a killer.

“No,” he whispered. 

Her violet eyes welled with tears that rolled down her face. Then, she bolted between Tifa and Sora where they stood in the threshold. Tifa tried to grab her arm, shouting her name, but Kairi’s bare flesh slipped between her fingers. Kairi was off running down the block at full-tilt.

Sora glanced at Tifa and those eyes of his were heartbreakingly honest. “I still love her,” he said to Tifa. “I was never able to stop.”

…

She didn’t know how she had reached the sea so fast. Kairi’s lungs burned and the bottom of her feet ached as she rushed across the rough boardwalk. She leaped off, stumbling in the soft sand. Her legs went out from under her and her hands sank deep. She got to her feet again and took off towards were the surf met the sand. There the ground was firmer and she could run better. Then, the palm tree with the thick crooked trunk bending horizontally like a bench was in sight. 

Kairi stopped where she was and turned to face the ocean. The sky and the sea went on forever, meeting at the slender little band where the met but did not join. 

Maybe that was how she and Sora were meant to be… close forever, but never together.

_"You loved Kairi."_

_"That’s not true."_

No words spoken had ever been so cruel and Kairi had used to write them herself. Her love for Sora had been worthless, like everything else she was.

The undertow was violent and strong. If she went out into the surf, she would never come back. She would drown and die out there in the water the color of Sora’s cerulean eyes. She took her first step into the water, feeling the chill lap from her toes into her legs. The sand sucked out from beneath her feet, pulling her deeper. She felt cold, like she was made of diamond stone. Apparently, it was easier to shatter diamond than anyone believed.

Sobbing, she stepped out deeper into the sea. 

…

Sora had never felt so stupid. It had been three years since he’d seen her and the first words he spoke happened to be something wretched and awful when taken out of context. He knew all along that he loved her, maybe since the day he laid eyes on her that first day of school. He remembered kissing her and thought that maybe she had loved him too. If he could change his entire past, take out the pain he had suffered at his father’s hands, he wouldn’t do it, not even for Luka. He would suffer for eternity, so long as he could know Kairi.

He raced after her and she was miraculously fast. Within moments, he had lost sight of her.

Her feet were cut and bleeding, leaving a trail for him to follow easily. Then, there was a boardwalk and then sand. He saw the ocean for the first time and it was more haunting than he could ever imagine. It was like looking deeply into his own eyes and there in the distance, knee deep in the dragging surf, was Kairi. She had her hands pressed to her face, white nightgown with the pattern of small pink flowers trailing on the top of the water, trembling as she tried not to sob. 

Then, she held her arms out to her sides like she was being crucified and screamed. She dropped to her knees in the water and the undertow immediately began to drag her out to sea, to death. 

Sora didn’t know he could ever affect her heart that greatly, that without his love she hated life enough to take her own. 

He stressed his body into high gear, pushing himself to his limits to reach her. His feet skidded and slipped in the sand, throwing him to his knees a few times, but finally he reached her. The water was ice cold to his knees and her body was colder still. He wrapped his arms around her waist and dragged her backwards out of the surf.

She didn’t fight him, just hung limply over his arms, red hair all sticking in her face. 

Once they were safely out of the water, Sora went to the palm tree and put his back against it, sitting in the sand. He crossed his legs and settled Kairi in his lap. She lolled against his chest, head resting in the crook of his neck and shoulder. 

“Kai?” he whispered, cradling her cold body against his warmth. She was breathing hard and fast from her run and her scream. He knew she could hear him. “You didn’t hear everything,” he whispered.

She nodded, thrashing her head against him. “I did hear,” was all she said and then screamed, “Let me go!”

Sora pressed her tightly against him, refusing to release her. “Stop! Listen…”

“Three years!” she sobbed. “You came only to say that! Only that?!”

He shook his head, pressing his cheek against the top of her head. “I didn’t. I came to see if you loved me.”

“Why?” she moaned. “You don’t…”

“You didn’t hear everything,” he repeated.

She turned and looked up at him. “I don’t want to hear,” she whispered. 

“Please…”

“No.” She put her hands over her ears and buried her face in her legs. “Don’t want to hear. Heard enough pretty lies.”

Sora hugged her tightly and put his lips against her neck. Gently, he kissed her pounding pulse, nipping and suckling at it lightly. She tilted her head to give him better access though her hands still covered her ears. His tongue snaked out and tasted the salt on her skin.

“Stop!” she shouted and put her elbow into his ribs, shoving him away. “Stop!” She managed to stagger from his lap and he let her go, but she whirled around to scream in his face. Her eyes met his and then everything inside her froze. His cerulean eyes were filled with tears, rolling slowly down his face. 

He was unashamed of crying. Inside, his heart was breaking, shattering into millions of sharp pieces. 

“You…?” she whispered and her hands reached for his face, reached to cup his tearstained cheeks. “You’re crying?”

He didn’t move, just stared into her. 

“Why?”

_"You loved Kairi."_

_"That’s not true."_

“You told Aunt Tifa it wasn’t true…”

“That I loved you,” he whispered. 

She drew in a sharp breath and her hands began to tremble wildly, fingers spasming against the sides of his face. 

“I still love you.”

She hit her knees in front of him and then fell into his chest. Her entire body shook with heart-wrenching sobs and Sora wrapped his arms around her shaking back. For a long while, they stayed like that, wrapped safely around each other in the sand on a beautiful beach with the sky and sea reaching out endlessly before them. 

“I’m sorry,” he whispered into her hair. “This wasn’t how I intended out meeting to be after three years.”

She murmured, “I know.” Then, she pushed back from him and looked into those honest eyes. She cupped his face, cradling his cheeks and putting her thumb to the scar on his mouth. “We took the long road, didn’t we?”

He smiled, nodded, and leaned forward to rest his forehead against hers. There, he waited patiently as he had before. It felt like only yesterday. 

“I want you to,” Kairi whispered.

Then, Sora pressed his lips to hers in the gentlest of kisses. Within seconds though, she deepened it aggressively, licking his lower lip. They were not frightened children anymore. Sora put his hands on her back, pressing her against his chest, feeling the pressure of her full breasts. She dug her fingers through his hair. The first brush of tongue sent a spike of heat to her middle and she tasted him eagerly, delving into his open mouth. Finally, they parted for air. 

“I’ve missed you so much,” Kairi whispered. “I thought of you every single day since I left.”

He smiled, hugging her tightly. “I’ve missed you more.”

She looked seriously into his face. “Your new home… is it a bad place?”

Sora shook his head. “No, my foster parents are wonderful people. How about your aunt?”

“Aunt Tifa is the greatest. She’s an artist.”

Sora smiled and rested his chin on her shoulder. “I’ve never seen the ocean before,” he whispered. “It’s beautiful.”

Kairi turned and sat back in his lap with her back against his chest so she could face the rolling surf. “Isn’t it? I came here a lot when I first moved in with Aunt Tifa.” She sighed. “The sea is beautiful. It just goes on forever until it meets with the sky.”

“And you’re even more beautiful than I remember,” he whispered against her ear. 

She shivered and giggled, squirming in Sora’s lap. 

For a while, they sat in each other’s arms looking out over the ocean. The waves rolled in endlessly, bringing in sea shells like pieces of shining hard candy and then taking them back. The sky was bright blue and cloudless. It was going to be a beautiful day. 

Finally, Kairi said, “I think we should go back. Aunt Tifa is going to worry.”

Sora nodded and hugged her tightly from behind. “Can I come with you?”

She smiled and nodded eagerly. Then, she took his hand and began leading him back towards the house, heedless of the bloody trail she had left for him to follow. Sora was captivated by the way her wet white dress clung to her every curve, see-through in places. He had to resist the urge to stare at the swell of her breasts and the dim press of her dusky nipples. When they reached the street, she noticed her own bloody footprints and the searing pain in her feet.

“Sora?” 

He crouched a bit, grinning, and she clambered on to his back. 

The heat of Kairi’s body sank into Sora’s flesh. He could feel her breasts pressing against his back and the warmth of her soft thighs in his hands. Shockingly, he found his mind wandering to things he had never been able to think of when he saw any other girls. 

Kairi was having the same stirring of feelings in her body. Her nipples felt tight and hard. Her crotch was hot and moist and her womb was rocking rather emptily inside her. She wanted him, just him… like she had never wanted anything else before. She was almost desperate. 

…

Tifa was making pancakes in a mild state of panic. She knew what that boy meant to Kairi and she had chosen to walk downstairs at the exact wrong moment, leading to a horrible misunderstanding. That was not the best way to meet after three years, but Sora had gone chasing after her at full-speed. Tifa was sure he’d stop Kairi if she was going to do anything rash or stupid. Tifa flipped another pancake onto the stack and added more batter to the hot pan.

“Aunt Tifa, we’re back! I need some band aids!” Kairi called. 

Sora walked into the kitchen with Kairi piggybacking, arms tight over his shoulders. “Hello,” he said a little sheepishly and his beautiful cerulean eyes were alight with happiness. He looked like a completely different person now.

“I’m glad to see you all back in once piece,” Tifa said cheerfully. “Would you like chocolate chips or blueberries in your pancakes?”

“Chocolate chips,” Kairi said happily as Sora set her in a kitchen chair. Tifa handed him a towel to put beneath her sandy bloody feet on another chair. “How about you, Sora?”

“Where’s the first aid box?” Sora asked. 

“In the bathroom just around the corner,” Tifa said with a small wave of her hand. “Chocolate chips or blueberries?”

“Either is fine,” he said and hurried off to fetch the box of band aids. Then, he returned to the kitchen and wet a paper towel at the sink. He knelt at Kairi’s feet and began to wipe away the sand and dried blood. Once her feet were as clean as he could get them, he began applying band aids to the cuts on the bottom of her feet. Much to his surprise, they were Barbie band aids in bright pink with lots of smiling girly faces. 

“Thank you, Sora,” Kairi said cheerfully.

Tifa had never seen her niece so happy, not even when she was with Xion. 

“Go on, sit down! Eat!” Tifa said and slid the plate of fresh pancakes across the table. “Kairi, feet on floor.”

Sora gazed at Kairi’s joyful face as she delved into the pancakes. She looked up at him and smile and she was just glowing. Her violet eyes looked so vibrant. Sora wondered what his own eyes looked like. Tifa slid into the seat beside Kairi and smiled at the kids. They only had eyes for each other though, just for each other. It was as if Tifa didn’t even exist, as if Sora and Kairi were in a world all their own. It was a world lost in Sora’s beautiful sky-colored eyes and Kairi’s twilight eyes. 

They were a match made in Heaven and strengthened by the fires of Hell.

X X X

Questions, comments, concerns? 


	25. Epilogue

Waaaah! Last chapter! 

I was watching my boyfriend play Kingdom Hearts and he was in the Pride Lands at the time. (I like to annoy him by asking lots of silly questions he can’t possibly answer when he’s playing video games, but he’s getting better at giving me wise-ass answers to shut me up.) And I asked him how on earth Sora manages to wield the Key Blade in his mouth while he’s a lion. My boyfriend told me plainly that Sora “does impossible things with his neck.” Does anyone else have a better reason so I can be mean to him?

Stay tuned for the oh-so important author’s note at the end!

X X X

Initially, Sora had been reluctant to leave his sister, even to be with Kairi, but Ventus and Aqua had convinced him. Within one month, Sora had moved into a little greenstone apartment complex downtown from Kairi, secured himself a job at a nice restaurant, and enrolled himself in the high school to finish his senior year. Olette, Selphie, Yuna, Rikku, and maybe secretly Paine had been sad to see him go, but understood that he had been waiting three years to be with her again. (Selphie said it was all rather romantic with her eyes full of stars.) It took only a week for girls to hear about him at the restaurant and begin flocking, coming in for dessert and to catch a glimpse into those eyes of his. Sales nearly doubled and the manager didn’t know what to think. 

By the end of the month, Kairi was ready to move in with him. Tifa smiled and waved from the threshold, holding a white handkerchief, as Kairi and her last box climbed into Xion’s black car.

“Ooh,” Xion said and purred low in her throat. “So I finally get to meet wonderful Sora?”

Kairi glanced at her best friend. Xion was looking rather mischievous but in a good way. Her excitement about Sora’s return was second only to Kairi’s. With everything she had heard about him, she was eager to put a face to the name.

“He’s mine,” Kairi said.

“What makes you think I want him? Now that Sora’s here, Terra’s up for grabs,” she giggled. 

Kairi smiled and tucked a stray strand of cranberry hair behind her ear. “You’re going to love him…”

“I’ve heard a lot of rumors about his eyes,” Xion said as if she was bestowing a terrible secret.

“His eyes?” Kairi repeated. “They are beautiful, but… what kind of rumors?”

“That they can see right into your soul,” Xion did some strange wiggling with her fingers. “And freeze water with a glance and start fires and…” Xion took a deep theatrical breath and then said plainly, “make lots of girls wet their panties.”

Kairi slapped her arm. “You’re terrible.”

“Okay, so I added that last one, but people think his eyes see your greatest secret at a glance,” Xion said with a shrug. 

Kairi thought of how Sora had just known what John was doing to her and murmured, “Maybe it’s true,” but too quietly for Xion to hear.

Then, they were pulling into the parking lot. 

Xion looked up at the big building and whistled. “Wow,” she said.

Kairi was happy to see that the building was more grey than green and that it looked nothing like their old redbrick apartment building. It towered maybe three stories with a neat little green lawn and flower garden. The pool glowed like a blue ghost in the early morning light. It was beautiful and safe-looking. 

Kairi felt a wave of peace wash over her. “Let’s go,” she said to Xion.

Xion shouldered open the door and Kairi dragged behind her with the last box. 

There was an elderly man behind the counter and he was diligently putting together a model airplane. “Good morning,” he called to them. “Where are you headed?”

“Sora Strife’s apartment, 2B,” Kairi said cheerfully. 

The elderly man nodded, deciding they looked like nice girls, and went back to his model airplane.

“Some security,” Xion said as they boarded the elevator. 

Kairi shook her head and pressed the button for the second floor. As the elevator climbed two floors, Kairi was certain Xion was going to jump out of her skin with excitement and tried heedlessly to distract her. When the doors peeled open, Xion darted out and located 2B within seconds. She knocked loudly, bouncing the door on its hinges. It was only a moment before Sora pulled open the door with his glowing smile on his handsome face.

“Good morning,” he said cheerfully. 

Xion’s eyes bugged out of her head and her jaw dropped. Then, she turned to look at Kairi with wide eyes.

“Hi Sora,” Kairi said and gave Xion a light hip-chuck. “This is my friend, Xion. I told her all about you.”

“Everything?” Sora asked. His beautiful eyes grew a little nervous, darting from Xion to Kairi and back again.

Kairi nodded and allowed him to take the box from her arms. “I told her about me, too,” she said.

That appeared to relax him. “Come on in. I was just starting breakfast,” he said and stepped aside to allow them in.

Xion drifted through the apartment, looking out the windows and prowling about like a cat, but Kairi had already seen it. 

Since Sora was in the kitchen, mixing pancake batter in a big bowl, she followed him. From behind, she wrapped her arms around his waist and laid her head against his strong back. Sora’s heartbeat was strong and even. Kairi closed her eyes, letting her hands wander across the planes of his chest and over the sharp bones of his hips.

“Kai, you’re making it hard to work,” he interjected once her fingers had wrapped around his wrists and began to inhibit his mixing. 

She smiled, but didn’t let go. 

Finally, Sora put aside the food and turned to face her. She pressed against the length of his front, nuzzling against the warmth of his throat and placing a light kiss on his pulse. He shivered and gripped her body tightly. 

“I’ve missed you,” Kairi whispered.

“It’s been two days,” he murmured.

“So…?”

He chuckled and she felt the sound vibrate deep in his chest. She lifted her face, eyes closed, waiting for him. Finally, she felt his breath so light on her face and smelling vaguely of mint. Then, his lips touched hers, fitting together so perfectly that it took her breath away. Kairi reached to thread her fingers through his soft hair and pulled him closer to her. This time, Sora initiated by licking her lower lip gently. It was nice how he didn’t try to pressure her, but Kairi wanted him something awful. Suddenly, she wished she hadn’t brought Xion.

His tongue slipped into her mouth, battling with hers for dominance of the kiss and actually having some difficulty winning. He sensed her arousal and his own only heightened. He cupped her breast through her shirt with one hand and hugged her closer with his free arm. 

“Oi, get a room,” Xion said flatly. “Or would you like me to leave?”

If Sora’s lips hadn’t still been pressed to Kairi’s, her “Leave!” might have escaped. 

He grinned and pulled away from her. Kairi gripped his shirt fiercely, gazing at him imploringly, but he pushed her but into a chair and turned back to the pancake batter. Xion snickered and Kairi sent her a ferocious glare. Sora broke up any ensuing squabble with a plate of steaming pancakes. 

…

After breakfast, Xion said, “I’m going to go ahead and shove out. The sexual tension in this place couldn’t be cut with a machete.” She waved her hand around her face as if brushing away spider webs and tucked some dark hair out of her eyes. 

“What?” Kairi squeaked, choking on her orange juice.

Xion grinned at her. “Oh come on, Kairi. I saw you two going at it in the kitchen. You would have been all over each other if I wasn’t here, so I’m going to leave.” She looked at Kairi mischievously. “But I’ll want details when I talk to you later. It’s been too long.”

“Xion!” Kairi hissed. 

“Don’t be that way, Kairi,” she said with a laugh. “I know you’re going to do it. We’re best girl friends, remember? We tell each other everything!” She glanced at Sora and winked. “You’re in for it, big boy, she has high hopes.” 

“Xion! Get out!” Kairi shrieked and hurled a shoe at Xion’s retreating back. Xion was already half out the door, but she stopped to give Kairi the fish eye and managed to duck out the door before the shoe clocked her. Kairi could hear her laughing in the hallway.

Sora found it all rather funny, but Kairi’s cheeks were redder than a tomato. She sat at the table, hiding her face and breathing hard, for a long moment. Then, Kairi went back to Sora’s side and further inhibited him from cleaning up the breakfast dishes.

“So, was that all true?” Sora asked cheekily.

Kairi buried her face into his back. “Xion exaggerates,” she groaned.

“Then, she was lying…” he sounded strangely crestfallen.

“Sora? What is it?”

He put his warm hands on her arms where they wrapped around the front of his waist. “You… don’t want to be with me like that… again,” he said softly. 

Kairi’s stomach clenched. “Oh, Sora,” she whispered and felt her face heating up. “That’s not what I meant.”

He turned in her arms and pressed her against his chest. “What did you mean then?”

Kairi wet her lips and then ran her hands down his chest. “I’ve wanted you since… you were inside me the first time.”

“But that was–”

She cut him off. “You made it feel good, even then. I’ve always wonder how it would feel with you alone,” she confessed. “You made me climax and after you left, before the police came, John was trying so hard to do the same, but he just… it didn’t even feel good. I could only think of you. It only felt good when it was you.”

“I’m glad,” he said and dipped his head to trace his tongue over her thundering pulse. “I haven’t even been able to think of any girl other than you.”

“Sora, I…” she gasped as he suckled lightly at the lobe of her ear. “I love you,” she whispered. “I’ve always loved you.”

“I love you, too,” he murmured and kissed her gently. 

Then, passion coursed red-hot through his veins. Sora peeled the hem of her t-shirt up over her stomach and put the warmth of his hands against the flat plain. She squirmed against him, pressing close and getting on her tiptoes to kiss him fiercer. 

“Please, Sora,” she whispered. “I trust you. I want you to…”

He snaked his tongue into her mouth and slipped his hands over the cups of her bra. Her nipples were hard against his palms, pressing out eagerly. He kneaded her breasts gently, pinching her nipples lightly between his warm fingers. Kairi moaned into his mouth, muffling the sounds and her hands snaked down his back. 

“Can I…?” she whispered when they broke apart for air. 

He nodded and helped her to pull the shirt over his head. She gasped at the sight of him and he hid the old gash on his stomach with his hand. Immediately, she gripped his wrist and pulled the hand away. Looking into his beautiful eyes, she dropped to her knees and put her lips to his abdomen. 

“Don’t hide,” she whispered. “You’re even more perfect than I imagined.”

Sora’s flesh was golden from the sun, wrapped over the frame of firm muscle yet he remained slender and bony as she had remembered. His shoulders were still lightly freckled and fine with bone and sinew. He was still so much the boy she had known in the worst time of her life. His ribs looked crooked and craggy from self-set breaks. But where there had been wounds before there were now only pearl-white scars, faint on his light golden tan. 

“You’ve healed,” she whispered. 

“It’s been three years,” he murmured as her fingers traced the path of each separate scar. He hadn’t realized just how much his father had hurt him until Kairi’s lips and hands feathered over each wounded place, covering almost every inch of his chest. 

“It doesn’t feel that long,” she whispered.

“You’re still hurting?” he asked.

She shook her head. “I feel like I never left you.”

Sora smiled and she cupped his face, leaning up to kiss him again. He slipped his hands beneath her bra, gripping her naked breasts gently, while her fingers explored his bare skin. Finally, her hands cupped the length of him through his jeans and he let out a gasp against her lips. 

“Kai,” he whispered. 

Gaining courage, Sora let one hand wander to beneath the hem of her skirt and stroke her through her panties. She writhed, pushing down against his fingers, encouraging him, begging him, to enter her. She was hot and there was moisture seeping through the thin cotton. She wanted him so badly.

“Please, Sora,” she begged.

He lifted her up so that her legs wrapped around his waist and carried her a little awkwardly to his bedroom. There, he laid her against the pillows and gently removed her shirt and bra so that he could press his naked skin against hers. 

Kairi moaned, clutching him, and her fingers found the thick scars along the back of his shoulders. “These are from…” she whispered. 

Sora looked into her violet eyes, knowing that she knew as well as he did. He had fallen, bloody and dying, right into her arms after his father had stabbed him with that knife, but Sora had saved Roxas’s eyes. She traced the path of each scar, counting silently, and discovered that he had been stabbed eleven times. Tears welled in her eyes, but she blinked them away. This wasn’t about the past. The past didn’t matter, not anymore.

“Sora,” she moaned, “please…” and reached to cup the front of his jeans. He was pressing hard and full against the restraining fabric. Kairi lowered the zipper and spent a moment struggling with the snap before being able to slip her hand through the slit of his boxers and feel him. 

He moaned and pushed aside her panties to slip a finger into her. Unlike their first time, she was already wet for him and she cried out when he touched her, unmuffled. Her hand began to stroke the length of him, tight and hard, and she moaned as Sora added a second finger to stretch her. 

“Sora,” she moaned. “Stop teasing… please, I want you…”

He grinned and bent down to kiss her, pushing her hands away. She whimpered at the loss of him, but Sora simple shucked his jeans and boxers. Then, he helped her pull down her skirt and panties. Naked, he pressed against her, feeling her wonderful warm skin bare beneath his. His skin was soft and smooth, broken only by scars and his ribs felt crooked against her breasts. The only thing she suddenly realized was that Sora was so much bigger than her. He could crush her… but he wouldn’t.

She knew Sora would never hurt her.

He fit perfectly between her legs, warm and strong against her. Then, the velvet-soft head of him pressed against her slit and he whispered, “Are you sure?”

She nodded, gripping his hips desperately. Her thumb lay across the puckered star-shaped scar from the corkscrew above his hip. “Please, Sora, inside,” she moaned.

He kissed her and pushed slowly inside. Kairi was squirming and moaning, pleading him to go faster and deeper, but Sora took his time filling her. Then, he was sheathed completely inside her, feeling her muscles clenching tightly down on him was pure heaven. 

“You’re so tight,” he whispered.

“I haven’t been… with anyone,” she moaned and gripped his butt to pull him tighter. 

Sora kissed her and began to move, thrusting deeply into her. Kairi’s breasts bounced with each thrust and her lips parted easily for him. He began pushing his tongue into her mouth at the same pace he was filling her snatch. She lifted her hips, meeting him thrust for thrust and moaning against his lips. The sensation of Sora and her body uninhibited by anyone else was pure bliss. A coil was winding up tight in Kairi’s belly, burning with heat and she moaned even louder.

Sora lifted her legs over his shoulders, driving into her deeper until the head of him touched the mouth of her womb. She cried out his name, digging her fingers into his flesh. His thrusts were becoming erratic, but fast and deep. He was at the edge, but wanted her to come over with him. Reaching between their bodies, he rolled her soft clit between his fingers and, immediately, her muscles seized down around him.

Kairi cried out his name, climaxing only for him. He filled her with the heat of his seed, spilling from her, ribbons joining them for the second time. 

This time, he had no masquerade to keep up.

He kissed her forehead and then her lips, tangling his tongue with her. 

“Stay inside me,” she whispered. “Please…”

Sora smiled and nodded, feeling himself softening inside her. He rolled onto his side, draping her leg over his waist and remaining inside her while he could. Kairi snuggled against his chest, feathering kisses along his collarbones. 

“I love you,” she whispered.

“I love you, too, Kai,” he murmured and ran his fingers through her hair. 

What had started out as a horrible life, for Sora at birth, for Kairi at seven… “Mommy, don’t let Daddy kiss me…” The terror and pain had given way to something so different, love in the bloody roses of disaster. They had met good people, Namine and Roxas, and condemned bad ones, Earl and John. They had found new lives, Aunt Tifa and Ventus and Aqua, and then found each other after three long years. After everything that had happened, if it meant never knowing each other, neither Sora nor Kairi would have traded in their pain… not if it meant losing each other. The fires of Hell had been hot, but Heaven’s light shone brighter… far brighter.

X X X

Questions, comments, concerns?

And, drum roll please, we are finished!

Here we go. Very important author's note:

First, drop a review and let me know what you think! Are the characters way out of character? Does everybody hate Riku for getting in the way? Think I torture Sora way too much (but it's because he's so easy to be mean to, though I always make sure to give everybody a happy ending!)? Are permanently disgusted and can no longer even play Kingdom Hearts thanks to me? Loved it? Hated it? Are scared for life because of what happened to Kairi? (Flames will be used to roast marshmallows and weenies!) Think I need to do more editing before I post chapters? Post to slow? Chapters are too short? Too long? Yada, yada, yada…

Second, I own nothing except my original characters: like Earl and John and the druggie mother, though I am ashamed to own them, but I also own Luka. And I think that’s everyone. I also own my plot! So there, now I can't be sued!

Third, there will be no sequel… at all, so don't ask!

Fourth, Dearlybelovedangel made a spectacularly **beautiful video** for this story. I would love for everyone to watch it because it is so amazing! Alright, if youtube or fanfiction decides to be a butt, the title is **“Behind the Walls {Sora//Kairi}” on Youtube.com** and it looks just like that with the slashes and brackets. Or there is also a link in my profile for lazy people. Here’s the link, just remove the spaces: **you tube. com/ watch?v=mrfl3j7VbPA** Please go enjoy it because it’s wonderful!

Fifth, Zetsumei-Dragunov drew some fanart for my story Behind the Walls. The links are all in my profile!

Sixth, thank you everyone for dealing with (and answering) my rants about all manner of stuff. Like how many people live in Sora’s heart. Grr!

Seventh, check out my first ORIGINAL NOVEL! **The Breaking of Poisonwood by Paradise Avenger.** (Summary: People were dead. When Skye Davis bought me at a slave auction as a birthday present for his brother, I had no idea what my new life was going to be like, but I had never expected this. It all started when Venus de Luna was killed and I was to take her place, to become the new savior… Then, bad things happened and some people died. In the heart of the earth, we discovered the ancient being that Frank Davis had found and created and used to his advantage. The Poisonwood—)Finally, thank you for making it this far! All the way to the end! Woot! Yay!

Finally, thank you for making it this far! All the way to the end! Woot! Yay!   
And so, I bid you adieu.


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